INDUSTRIAL 

FREEDOM 
IN  PRUSSIA 

WENDEL 


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THE  EVOLUTION   OF 

INDUSTRIAL   FREEDOM   IN   PRUSSIA 

1845-1849 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF 
INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM 
IN  PRUSSIA,   1845  -  1849 


By 

HUGO  C.  M.  WENDEL 

Ph.D.  {U.  of  P.);  Assistant  Professor 
of  History  in  New  Tork  University 


THE    NEW    YORK.   UNIVERSITY    PRESS 

Jl  WAVERLY  PLACE,  NEW  YORK  CITY 

19ZI 


Copyright  1918,  bj 

HtJOO  C.  M.  Wend«l 

Copyright  1921,  by 

Thx  Nxw  Yobk  Ukiysbsitt  Fbess 


THE  NEW  YORK  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

COMMITTEE  OF   PUBLICATIOK 

Abthub  Huntington  Nason,  Ph.D.,  Chairman 
Director  of  the  Press 

Eablx  Bbownell  Babcock,  Ph.D. 

Habold  Dickinson  Seniob,  M.D.,   Sc.D.,  F.B.C.S. 


KENNEBEC  JOTJENAL  PRESS,   ATTGTJSTA,    MAINS 


PREFACE 

BETWEEN  the  German  revolution  of  1848  and 
that  of  1918,  the  parallel  is  interesting:  in  both, 
the   laboring-classes   played   a  prominent  part; 
and,  in  both,  the  industrial  problem  came  up  for  solution- 

During  the  recent  revolution,  the  employees  gave  ex- 
pression to  their  belief  that  the  industrial  freedom  of  the 
factory  system  was  making  them  slaves  of  the  capital- 
ists. Seventy  years  ago  the  mastercraftsmen  of  Prussia 
—  our  study  is  confined  to  this  state  —  opposed  the  liberal 
Prussian  law  of  1845,  because  they  believed  that  it  was 
demoralizing  industry.  They  could  think  of  high  stand- 
ards only  in  terms  of  the  guild  system.  Journeymen  and 
apprentices,  however,  were  in  favor  of  retaining  in- 
dustrial freedom.  Factory-employees  and  day-laborers, 
though  inadequately  organized,  were  surprisingly  unan- 
imous in  their  demands  for  regulation. 

Obviously  there  was  discontent  among  the  working 
classes  of  Prussia  in  1848.  This  discontent  was  largely 
due  to  the  fact  that  Prussian  industry  was  passing 
through  a  transitional  stage. 

To  show  the  degree  of  industrial  freedom  introduced 
into  Prussia  by  the  law  of  1845,  to  note  the  reaction  of 
the  various  classes  of  workingmen,  and  to  trace  the 
policy  of  the  Gk)vernment,  resulting  from  the  petitions 
and  protests  of  1847  ^^^  1848,  is  the  purpose  of  this 
monograph. 

In  making  this  study,  I  have  received  assistance  from 
numerous  sources  —  which  I  gratefully  acknowledge. 
Professor  William  E.  Lingelbach,  under  whose  super- 
vision this  work  was  begun  and  completed,  and  Professor 


vi  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM   IN   PRUSSIA 

Edward  P.  Cheyney  and  Professor  Arthur  Rowland 
have  favored  me  with  constructive  criticism.  Professor 
Edwin  R.  A.  SeUgman  granted  me  the  use  of  his  private 
library.  Professor  Carl  Becker  and  Professor  Carlton 
J.  H.  Hayes  have  given  me  expert  advice. 

Of  the  librarians,  those  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, Columbia,  Harvard,  Yale,  Syracuse  (Leopold 
von  Ranke's  library)  and  the  New  York  Pubhc  Library 
have  granted  me  many  privileges.  Dr.  Henry  J.  Harris, 
Director  of  the  Division  of  Documents,  Library  of  Con- 
gress, has  been  especially  helpful. 

I  must  also  acknowledge  the  careful  editorial  super- 
vision of  the  Director  of  the  New  York  University  Press, 
Professor  Arthur  Huntington  Nason. 

H.  C.  M.  W. 
University  Heights,  New  York 
October  14,  1920 


CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION.     (1731-1845) 

1.  General  Survey I 

2.  The  Restrictive  System  (Prussian  Code  1794) 3 

3.  Transition  to  Industrial  Freedom 8 

4.  Establishment  of  Industrial  Freedom 11 

5.  Industrial  Freedom  Restricted  to  Five  Pro\inces 16 

6.  Need  of  a  Uniform  System  of  Industry 16 

CHAPTER   I 
INDUSTRIAL   LAW   OF   1845 

1.  Restrictions  Abolished  and  Compensation 17 

2.  Itinerant  Trades 22 

3.  Fixed  Trades 26 

4.  Markets  and  Fairs 28 

5.  Price  and  Wage  Regulation 30 

6.  Guilds   31 

7.  Adaptation  to  Social  Conditions 40 

CHAPTER  II 
DISCONTENT  AMONG  THE  WORKING  CLASSES 

1.  The  Agricultural  Situation 42 

2.  The  Industrial  Situation 46 

3.  Industrial  Organizations 52 

CHAPTER    III 

THE    INDUSTRIAL   PROBLEM    AND    THE 
GOVERNMENT 


Petitions  of  Provincial  Diets  Prior  to  1847 58 

First  United  Diet 59 

Second  United  Diet 67 

I^Iinistry  of  Commerce,  Industry,  and  Public  Works.  .  70 

Prussian  National  Assembly ^2 


viii  CONTENTS 

6.  Truck  System 78 

7.  Law  of  February  9,  1849 78 

Conclusion   80 

Abbreviations  82 

BlBI^IOGRAPHY     83 

Index  105 


THE   EVOLUTION   OF 

INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM   IN   PRUSSIA 

1845-1849 


INTRODUCTION 

The  Introduction  of  Industriai,  Freedom 
INTO  Prussia  1731-1845 

THE  craft  guilds,  although  a  product  of  mediaeval 
social  and  economic  conditions,  maintained  them- 
selves far  down  into  recent  times.  Long  before 
the  French  Revolution,  however,  the  growing  individ- 
ualistic conception  of  life  and  the  new  forms  of  industry 
had  made  them  an  antiquated  institution.  Their  purpose 
was,  furthermore,  vitiated  by  the  introduction  of  numer- 
ous abuses.  As  early  as  1731,  therefore,  the  German 
Imperial  Diet  had  resolved  upon  reform.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year,  this  resolution  resulted  in  a  law  for  the 
provinces  of  Prussia  within  the  Holy  Roman  Empire. 
East  Prussia  received  a  new  code  in  1733 ;  West  Prussia, 
in  1774.  ^ 

Aside  from  the  latter,  no  new  industrial  statutes  of 
importance  were  promulgated  in  Prussia  until  after  the 
humiliating  defeat  at  Jena  in  1806.  Some  years  before, 
however,  in  1794,  the  legal  principles  pertaining  to  trade 
and  industry,  as  embodied  in  the  existing  laws,  had  been 
codified  and  published  as  a  part  of  the  new  Prussian 
Code  {Allgemeines  Landrecht).  This  codification  was 
in  every  way  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  age,  and 
reflected  the  influence  of  rationalism  as  it  was  inter- 
preted in  the  light  of  benevolent  absolutism.  ^ 

The  industrial  reorganization  of  the  Prussian  state 
under  the  ministers  Stein  and  Hardenburg  reached  its 

^  Rohrscheidt,  Tom,  Zunftzwang  zur  Oeuerbefreiheit,  96. 
-  Roehl,    Beitraege   zur   Preusa.     HandwerkerpolUik,   in    SchmoIIer's   St. 
sw.  Fgn.,  v.  17,  Heft  4,  22. 


2  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

culmination  in  the  introduction  of  industrial  freedom 
(Gewerbefreiheit) .  This  was  embodied  in  three  meas- 
ures of  the  years  1810,  1811,  and  1820,  respectively.' 
Naturally,  the  guilds  disliked  the  new  freedom,  for  it 
infringed  upon  their  time-honored  monopolies.  They 
exerted  all  the  influence  at  their  command  against  the 
new  laws.  As  a  result,  the  state  felt  called  upon  to 
reopen  the  question.  The  Council  of  State  was  ordered 
in  1824  to  discuss  the  advisability  of  revision.*  In 
1845,  °  after  twenty-one  years  of  deliberation,  a  new 
measure  was  promulgated.  Although  this  new  law  tried 
to  establish  a  compromise  between  industrial  freedom 
and  state  control,  it  failed  to  meet  with  the  approval  of 
those  whose  condition  it  sought  to  ameliorate.  By  1848, 
craftsman  and  laborer  alike  demanded  reform.  The 
government  again  took  the  matter  under  consideration, 
but  reached  a  decision  decidedly  favorable  to  the  guilds." 

In  1869,  however,  the  North  German  Confederation 
adopted  a  more  enlightened  policy,  and  freed  the  indus- 
tries of  North  Germany  from  the  trammels  of  an  eco- 
nomic organization  long  since  antiquated.^  Three  years 
later,  the  law  of  1869  was  introduced  into  Baden, 
Wuerttemberg,  and  Bavaria,  and  thus  became  the  law 
of  the  newly  formed  German  Empire.  *  Although  this 
law  has  undergone  various  amendments  in  more  recent 
times,  its  main  features  still  survive. " 

The  history  of  craft  guild  legislation  in  Prussia  from 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  to  1845  ^^^s  already 
been  written.     The  law  of  1869  and  subsequent  amend- 

•  See  P.  O.  S.  for  the  respective  years. 
*Roehl,  ibid.,  190. 

*P.G.S.  1845,  41  «f. 

•  Law  of  Feb.  9,  1849.  P.  G.  S.  1849,   93  ff. 
^Law  of  June  21.  B.  Qbl.  1869,   245  ff. 
*R.  6bl.  1871,   392,  and  187Z,   170. 

*R.  GbL  1881,   233;  1897,   663;  1900,   321;  1908,   667. 


INTRODUCTION  3 

merits  have  likewise  been  adequately  analyzed.  ^^  The 
purpose  of  this  study,  therefore,  is  to  discuss  the  law 
of  1845  ^^  ^ts  relation  to  the  evolution  of  industrial  free- 
dom in  Prussia  and  to  relate  it  to  the  events  of  1848. 

In  order  to  appreciate  the  degree  of  industrial  free- 
dom retained  in  1845,  ^t  will  be  necessary  to  outline 
briefly  its  gradual  introduction  at  the  close  of  the  eight- 
eenth and  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The 
first  fact  of  importance  in  this  connection  is  the  Prus- 
sian Code  of  1794  (Allgemeines  Landrecht)  referred  to 
above.  As  previously  stated,  it  contains  the  laws  per- 
taining to  craft  guilds  and  factories.  ^^  The  general 
principles  there  laid  down  distinguished  between  trades 
over  which  guilds  had  a  monopoly  and  those  open  to 
any  one.  Two  kinds  of  craft  organizations  were  recog- 
nized as  legal,  those  of  limited  and  those  of  unlimited 
membership.  The  exclusiveness  of  the  former  could  be 
invaded  by  the  right  of  the  crown  to  create  free-masters 
(Freimeister) ,  i.e.,  masters  not  obliged  to  join  the  guild, 
while  the  latter  could  be  prevented  from  becoming 
monopolistic  by  the  king's  refusal  to  limit  their  mem- 
bership. As  new  guilds  could  be  established  only  by 
royal  charter,  and  as  the  state  reserved  the  right  of 
amendment,  the  whole  system  was  well  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  central  authorities.  ** 

Gk)vernment  control  was  made  even  more  effective  by 
placing  the  guilds  directly  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 

i»  In  a  work  entitled  Tom  Zwnftzwang  zur  Oewerbefreiheit,  Kurt  Ton 
Rohrscheidt  has  treated  the  subject  down  to  1823,  and  also  the  law  of 
1897.  It  is  based  largely  on  material  in  the  Koenlgsberg  archives.  Subse- 
quently, he  published  an  annotated  edition  of  the  law  of  1869. 

Hugo  Boehl  in  Beitraege  zur  Preuasitchen  Hand/werkerpolUik,  based 
primarily  on  documents  in  the  archives  in  Berlin,  discusses  the  question 
from  1780  to  1845. 

The  amendment  of  1881  has  been  analyzed  by  Johannes  Jacob!  in  an 
article  entitled  Die  Innungsbewegung  in  Deutschland  und  die  Novelle  tur 
Reichs-Geuerbeordung  vom  18  Juli  1881.  (Jhb.  f.  G.  V.  V.,  1883,  1197- 
1233), 

^A.L.R.,  pt.  II,  title  8,  ch.  3-4. 

^A.L.R.,  pt.  II,  title  8,  ch.  3,  §§  179-189.  192,  207. 


4  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

municipal  administrative  board.  A  representative  ap- 
pointed by  the  board  attended  all  meetings  of  the  guild. 
He  was  keeper  of  the  seal  and  had  to-  affix  his  signature 
to  all  orders  and  documents.  He  was  expected  to  pre- 
vent the  fixing  of  prices  and  the  collection  of  dues  and 
fines  not  prescribed  by  the  charter.  He  supervised  the 
administration  of  funds.  It  was  the  administrative 
board,  not  the  guilds,  that  dealt  with  free-masters,  who, 
by  exceeding  the  terms  of  their  grant,  might  infringe 
upon  the  rights  of  guilds.  But  this  fact,  as  well  as  the 
obligation  of  rural  craftsmen  to  join  a  guild  of  the  near- 
est town,  and  the  limitation  upon  all  craftsmen  to  finish 
only  so  much  of  an  article  as  the  privileges  of  their  guild 
permitted,  clearly  indicate  that,  although  subject  to  state 
and  town  authorities,  the  gi;iids  still  held  a  unique  posi- 
tion in  the  industrial  system  of  the  period.  ^^ 

The  advance  toward  a  more  liberal  industrial  policy 
is  clearly  seen  in  the  regulations  regarding  promotion 
from  journeyman  to  master-workman.  The  rule  that  no 
one  should  attain  the  highest  rank  in  the  system  without 
first  acquiring  burghership,  was  retained ;  but  restrictions 
made  by  the  guilds  to  limit  the  number  of  masters  were 
abolished.^*  Thus  a  journeyman  could  not  be  prevented 
from  advancing  to  the  next  stage  for  reasons  of  caprice 
or  extortion,  or  because  he  was  married;  nor  could  he 
be  required  to  make  a  masterpiece  unusually  costly  or 
unsalable.  He  was  allowed  two  re-examinations  and 
guaranteed  the  right  of  appeal  to  the  municipal  admin- 
istrative board  for  an  investigation  of  the  causes  of  the 
rejection  of  his  work.  After  satisfactory  examination 
and  formal  acceptance  into  the  guild,  a  master  desiring 

^Tbid.,  §§  185,  190-246.  The  privileges  of  this  system  were  extended 
to  widows  of  deceased  master- workmen,  unless  otherwise  specified,  so  long 
as  they  did  not  marry,  and  provided  they  contributed  to  the  guild. 

"  Rohrscheidt,  ibid.,  142  flf. 


INTRODUCTION  5 

to  change  his  place  of  residence,  could  establish  himself 
in  any  city  without  being  required  to  submit  to  a  new 
test.  This,  however,  did  not  apply  to  rural  craftsmen 
who  moved  to  town.  They  might  be  asked  to  make  a 
masterpiece  in  accordance  with  the  more  difficult  speci- 
fications of  the  town-guild.  ^^ 

In  harmony  with  the  increasing  elasticity  of  this  guild 
economy,  masters,  although  forbidden  to  sell  their  wares 
outside  of  their  guild-district,  were  permitted  to  make 
them  "to  order"  for  those  living  beyond  it,  and  free- 
masters,  ^*  as  well  as  guild-masters,  could  employ  ap- 
prentices and  journeymen  —  the  only  restriction  upon 
free-masters  being  that  they  must  "accept"  and  "free" 
their  apprentices  through  the  guild.  ^^  Guilds  could  not 
refuse  to  accept  as  apprentices  illegitimate  children  duly 
legitimatized.  Nor  was  previous  employment,  except 
that  of  flayer,  a  bar  to  admission.  ^*  Subjects,  however, 
were  permitted  to  learn  an  urban  handicraft  only  by  con- 
sent of  their  lord,  the  general  rule  prevailing  that  chil- 
dren shall  follow  their  father's  occupation.^®  The  rights 
of  master  and  apprentice  were  protected  by  the  fact  that 
the  relationship  was  contractual.  Heavy  fines,  indecent 
customs,  and  costly  banquets  in  connection  with  an 
apprentice's  promotion  were  prohibited.  ^° 

In  the  regulations  pertaining  to  journeymen,  however, 
the  rigid  features  of  the  old  system  were  preserved. 
Thus  a  journeyman  was  obliged  to  travel  and  to  confine 
his  Wanderschaft  to  his  own  country.  Permission  to 
visit  a  foreign  state  could  be  obtained  only  from  the 
police  authorities.      His   credentials  w^ere  deposited   in 

■^^A.L.B.,  ibid.,  §§  247-262. 

"  I.e.,  masters  not  obliged  to  join  a  guild.     Cf .  p.  3. 

"A.L.  2?.,  ibW.,  §§  263-277.  .: 

^8  Cf.  Rohrscheidt,  ibid.,  122  £P. 

^A.L.R.,  pt.  II,  title  7,  ch.  4,  §§  171-172;  title  8,  ch.  3,  S  282, 

«»A.  L.  22.,  pt.  11,  title  8.  ch.  3,  §§  278-324. 


6  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN   PRUSSIA 

the  guild-chest  as  long  as  he  was  employed  in  a  town. 
If  no  work  could  be  found  for  him,  he  was  obliged  to 
leave.  He  might  remain,  however,  if  he  hired  himself 
out  as  a  servant  —  an  act  which  did  not  affect  his  social 
standing.  His  wages,  as  craftsman,  were  determined  by 
the  guild  under  the  direction  of  the  local  government. 
In  case  of  illness,  he  was  entitled  to  assistance  from  the 
journeymen's  fund  (Gesellenlade)  and,  eventually,  from 
the  guild  treasury  (Gewerkslade)  and  the  municipal 
charity  fund.  He  had  to  work  on  all  days  except  legal 
holidays,  and  could  be  imprisoned  for  disobeying  this 
rule.  Under  ordinary  circumstances,  both  master  and 
journeyman  were  bound  to  give  two  weeks'  notice  before 
terminating  their  agreement.  But  the  master  could  re- 
fuse to  let  his  journeyman  go,  even  after  proper  notice 
had  been  given,  if  the  day  on  which  he  was  entitled  to 
leave  fell  within  two  weeks  of  a  fair  or  an  annual 
market.  Failure  to  leave  town  after  the  return  of  his 
credentials  made  the  joume)mian  a  vagabond.  Unlike 
the  master-craftsmen,  journeymen  did  not  form  an 
organization.  They  were  not  allowed  to  hold  meetings 
unless  especially  permitted  by  the  guild-charter  or  the 
police  laws,  and  then  only  after  informing  the  guild- 
elders  of  their  intention.  They  could,  however,  elect  an 
Altgeselle  to  supervise  the  benefit-fund.  But  he,  too, 
was  under  the  ultimate  supervision  of  the  elders  and  the 
representative  of  the  municipal  administrative  board.  ^^ 
More  significant  than  the  rules  concerning  guilds 
are  those  relating  to  factory  employees  and  artificers 
(Kuenstler).^-    The  date  of  the  Prussian  Code  (1794) 

"A.  L.B.,  ibid.,  §§  325-400. 

■»  "Lamprecht  (Kriegs-und  Domaenenrat  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 
century)  unterschied  ....  Handwerker  nnd  Kuenstler  im  Sinne 
des  Landrechta  so,  dass  er  unter  Kuensten  'mehrere  neu  eingefuehrte 
Gewerbe'  verstand,  'zu  deren  Ausfuehrung  vorzueglich  viel  Genie  und 
wissenschaftliche  Kenntnisse  erforderlich  sind  nnter  welchen  die  sehoenen 
Kuenste  nur  die  erste   Stelle  einnehmen,  die  sich  hauptsaechlich  mit  der 


INTRODUCTION  7 

falls  within  the  early  period  of  the  Industrial  Revo- 
lution. With  the  introduction  of  machinery  and  new 
processes  of  production,  there  appear  two  factors  des- 
tined to  create  a  new  social  group  and  a  new  system 
of  manufacture:  the  proletariat  and  the  factory.  The 
early  stage  of  this  new  social  and  economic  creative 
process  is  clearly  reflected  in  the  Code.  It  has,  for  ex- 
ample, only  seventeen  sections  dealing  with  factories  as 
compared  with  two  hundred  and  twenty-two  on  craft 
guilds.  ^^  It  distinguishes  between  a  master-workman 
employed  in  a  factory  and  an  ordinary  factory-hand. 
Moreover,  it  defines  a  Fabrikant  as  one  who  works  in 
a  factory,  and  states  that  craftsmen  engaged  in  a  busi- 
ness of  their  own,  although  popularly  known  as  Fahri- 
kanten,  shall  be  subject  to  the  rules  of  their  respective 
guilds.  Factory  employees  were  not  subject  to  Zunft- 
zwang,  ^*  and,  consequently,  did  not  share  in  the  privi- 
leges reserved  to  the  guilds.  Nor  did  those  who  learned 
their  trade  under  them  enjoy  the  rights  of  guild  appren- 
tices and  guild  journeymen.  It  was,  however,  permis- 
sible for  anyone  belonging  to  a  craft  organization  to 
accept  employment  in  a  factory  without  forfeiting  his 
rights. 

Factories  were  not  to  be  established  without  state  per- 
mission. Before  granting  a  permit  for  the  manufacture 
of  goods  reserved  to  a  particular  guild,  the  state  agreed 
to  consult  with  the  nearest  guild  concerned.     The  rela- 


Nachahmung  der  Natur  beschaeftigen.'  "  (Quoted  by  Roehl  in  Beitraege 
zur  Pre-uss.  Eandwerkerpolitik  in  St.  sw.  Fgn.,  v.  17,  Heft.  4,  p.  36,  foot- 
note  No.   1.) 

"Artificer"  is  used  here  as  one  who  makes  a  work  of  art. 

Dieterici  enumerates  the  mechanische  Euenstler  as  follows:  "Mechanici 
fuer  mathematische  Instrumente,  Mechanici  fuer  musikalische  Instrtunente, 
Uhrmacher,  Gold-Silber-Arbeiter,  Steinschneider,  Gold-Silberschlaeger,  Buch- 
binder,  Atrappen-Goldbortenmacher,  Verfertiger  von  Gypsflguren,  Bildhauer, 
Bilder-Blumen-u.  Porzellan-Maler."  (Eandbuch  der  Statistik  des  prexis- 
sischen  Stoats,  Berlin,   1861,   387.) 

^A.  L.  R.,  pt.  II,  title  8,  eh.  4,  §§  407-423;  and  eh.  3,  §§  179-400. 

**  I.e.,  were  not  obliged  to  join  a  guild. 


8  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

tion  between  employer  and  employee  was  determined  by 
contract.  The  manufacturer  was  given  all  the  rights  of 
members  of  merchant  guilds,  except  the  right  of  retail- 
ing. ^' 

Artificers  were  subject  to  regulations  identical  with 
those  pertaining  to  ordinary  craftsmen.  If  their  trade 
was  the  exclusive  privilege  of  a  guild,  they  were  obliged 
to  join  it;  if  it  was  not,  anyone  could  engage  in  the 
trade  and  enjoy  the  same  right  of  selling  his  wares,  both 
inside  and  outside  of  his  house,  as  did  members  of  a 
guild.  Those  artificers  who  were  members  of  the  Acad- 
emy of  Arts  might  ply  their  trade  anywhere  within  the 
confines  of  the  state,  without  interference  from  any  guild 
whatsoever.  ^* 

Two  other  features  of  the  Prussian  Code,  of  import- 
ance here,  are  the  right  of  banlieue  (Bannmeile)  and 
the  market-right.  The  former  permitted  certain  cities 
to  exclude  all  extra-mural  trades  from  a  specified  dis- 
trict outside  the  walls.  Its  purpose  was  to  keep  away 
from  the  immediate  environs  of  the  city  all  crafts  likely 
to  compete  with  the  urban  craftsmen  for  the  city  trade. 
Rural  craftsmen  indispensable  to  agriculture  formed  an 
exception  to  this  rule.  ^'^  The  only  point  regarding  the 
right  to  hold  fairs  and  markets  that  needs  to  be  referred 
to  here  is  that  strangers  must  be  permitted  to  sell  their 
wares  freely.  ^* 

Not  long  did  the  Prussian  Code  of  1794  represent 
advanced  opinion  concerning  the  guilds.  As  early  as 
1790,  the  Bromberg  Chamber  had  declared  the  guilds 
an  evil.  In  1798,  the  East  Prussian  Diet  took  a  hostile 
attitude  toward  them.     It  believed  Ztinftswang  ^^  to  be 

^A.  L.  R.,  rt.  IT,  title   8,  ch.  4,   §§  407-423. 

»Ihid.,  §§  401-406. 

"A.  L.  R.,  pt.  II,  tiUe  8,  ch.  2,  §§  90-102. 

'^Ibid.,  §5  103-107. 

"Of.  note  No.  24. 


INTRODUCTION  9 

detrimental  to  the  province,  restrictive  of  trade  and 
industry,  and  injurious  to  society.  In  the  same  year  its 
modification  was  ordered.  By  a  cabinet  order  of  1805, 
craftsmen  of  Koenigsberg  were  authorized  to  "accept" 
and  "free"  apprentices  without  forming  an  association; 
and,  a  year  later,  permission  was  granted  to  anyone  in 
the  monarchy  to  become  a  granite-mason  without  being 
obliged  to  join  a  guild.  ^°  In  May,  1806,  industrial  free- 
dom was  granted  to  the  linen  and  cotton  weavers  of 
East  and  West  Prussia.  ^^ 

The  foregoing  description  has  shown  that,  from  the 
codification  of  Prussian  law  in  the  last  decade  of  the 
eighteenth  century  to  the  staggering  blow  delivered  by 
Napoleon  at  Jena,  the  craft  guilds  were  strongly  in- 
trenched in  Prussia,  but  that  the  creation  of  free-masters 
and  the  establishment  of  factories  were  depriving  the 
old  system  of  its  privileged  position.  The  task  of  re- 
organizing the  state  after  1806  provided  the  opportunity 
for  the  introduction  of  a  more  liberal  industrial  policy. 

Both  Stein  and  Hardenberg  contributed  to  the  new 
policy.  Stein's  contribution  consisted  in  an  edict,  ^^  an 
order,  ^^  and  a  law.  ^*  The  edict  gave  the  nobleman  the 
right  to  engage  in  a  bourgeois  trade  without  losing  his 
social  standing.  By  abolishing  serfdom,  it  permitted  the 
farmer  to  become  a  burgher,  and  vice  versa.  The  re- 
striction of  the  Prussian  Code  (1794)  whereby  a  subject 
could  not  learn  a  handicraft  without  the  consent  of  his 
lord,  was  thus  abrogated.  ^^     The  order  dissolved  the 

*•  Roehl,  Beitraege  zur  Preusa.  Handwerkerpolitilc,  in  St.  aw.  Fgn.,  v.  17, 
Heft  4,   46-49. 

"P.  G.  S.  1806-10,  85-86;  Rohrscheidt,  Yom  Zwnftzwang  zur  Oewerbe- 
freiheit,  204-216. 

M  Edict  of  Oct.  9,  1807.  P.  G.  S.  1806-10,  171,  §  2;  173,  §  12. 
Rohrscheidt,   ibid.,   220-247. 

M  Order  of  Oct.  24,  1808.     P.  G.  S.  1806-10,  315-317. 

^  Staedteordnung  of  Nov.  19,  1808,  §§  16,  17,  24;  23,  34.  P.  G.  S. 
1806-10,  326-328.  Roehl,  Beitraege,  92.  Rohrscheidt,  Tom  Zunftzwang, 
etc.,   357-364. 

»A.  L.  B.,  pt.  II,  title  7,  ch.  4,  §§  171-172. 


lO  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

hawkers'  guild  and  abolished  both  the  Zunftzwang  ^' 
and  the  monopoly  of  sale  enjoyed  by  bakers  and  butchers 
in  East  and  West  Prussia,  and  in  Lithuania.  The  law 
simplified  the  method  of  acquiring  the  status  of  a  burgh- 
er; made  its  acquisition  the  sine  qua  non  of  carrying  on 
an  urban  trade ;  permitted  every  burgher,  with  the  consent 
of  the  municipal  administrative  board,  to  engage  in  a  craft 
not  restricted  to  a  guild;  and  declared  that  the  existing 
regulations  concerning  guilds  would  remain  in  force  until 
the  state  deemed  it  wise  to  change  them.  The  amazing 
thing  about  this  progressive  legislation  is,  that  it  bears 
Stein's  signature,  despite  the  fact  that  he  was  a  cham- 
pion of  the  guild  system  and  an  opponent  of  industrial 
freedom.  Perhaps,  as  has  been  suggested.  Stein's  co- 
laborers  were  responsible  for  these  phases  of  the  meas- 
ures. ^^ 

Another  step  forward  was  taken  when  the  state  per- 
mitted the  building  of  flour  mills  under  the  sole  con- 
dition of  paying  a  tax  on  the  mill,  and  when  it  declared 
the  obligation  to  have  one's  grain  ground  in  a  specifically 
designated  mill  a  voluntary  matter.  Thus  a  townsman 
could  take  his  grain  to  a  rural  mill,  and  a  farmer  could 
have  his  flour  made  in  an  urban  mill.^*  A  year  later, 
the  millers'  guilds  in  the  provinces  just  referred  to  were 
dissolved.  ^^ 

Perhaps  the  best  expression  of  principle  on  industrial 
matters  in  pre-Hardenberg  legislation  is  contained  in  the 
Instructions  of  December  26,  1808,  to  the  governors  of 
the  several  provinces.  •*"  The  provincial  authorities  are 
informed  that  industrial  freedom  is  the  best  policy,  that 

*»Cf.  Note  No.  24. 

'f Rohrscheidt,  ibid.,  197-199 ;  Meier,  Die  Reform  der  TerwaltungsOrgan- 
itation  unter  Stein  und  Hardenberg,   143-145. 

»  Edict  of  March  29,  1808.  P.  6.  S.  1806-10,  218,  §  1,  and  219,  §  7. 
Also  Kohrscheidt,  ibid.,  248  ff. 

» Edict  of  March  29.  1809.     P.  G.  S.  1806-10,  556,  §  1. 

*>P.  G.  S.   1806-10,  494-496,   §§    50-52;   Rohrscheidt,  ibid.,  365  S. 


Introduction  h 

trades  must  not  be  hindered  in  their  natural  development, 
and  that  free  competition  of  labor  and  capital  shall  be 
encouraged.  The  same  authorities  are  cautioned  to 
negotiate  with  care  the  transition  from  the  restrictive 
to  the  liberal  policy.  A  special  clause  grants  to  the 
journeymen  of  the  mason  and  carpenter-trades  a  dis- 
pensation from  the  obligation  of  going  to  Berlin,  Pots- 
dam, and  Koenigsberg,  if  the  building  commission,  after 
a  thorough  examination,  is  convinced  of  their  ability. 
Neither  this  measure  nor  those  referred  to  in  the  para- 
graph immediately  preceding  bear  Stein's  signature. 

The  final  step  toward  industrial  freedom  was  taken 
by  Hardenberg  in  a  series  of  laws  covering  a  period  of 
ten  years.  In  an  edict  of  October  28,  1810,  relative  to 
the  administration  of  the  finances  for  the  payment  of 
an  indemnity  to  France,  he  declared  himself  in  favor  of 
making  the  right  to  engage  in  a  trade  contingent  solely 
upon  the  payment  of  a  trade  tax,  and  of  abolishing 
monopoly-privileges  (Bann-  und  Zwanggerechtigkeiten) 
with  compensation  by  the  state  in  cases  involving  actual 
loss.  *^  On  the  following  day,  the  coercive  right  of 
millers,  brewers,  and  distillers  was  abolished  in  the  whole 
monarchy.  *^ 

The  chief  measures,  however,  were  the  trade  tax  edict 
of  1810  and  the  police  law  of  181 1.  The  former*'  was 
promulgated  because  the  state,  in  need  of  money,  felt 
that,  in  view  of  the  introduction  of  industrial  freedom, 
a  tax  on  trades  would  entail  a  minimum  burden.  It 
made  the  annual  purchase  of  a  license  the  sole  condition 
under  which  a  native  or  foreign  merchant,  craftsman, 
or  manufacturer  might  carry  on  his  enterprise  anywhere 

*^P.  G.  S.,  27. 

*^  MueJUenzwang,  Brau-  und  Branntweimwang.  Edict  of  Oct.  28,  1810, 
P.  G.  S.,  95. 

« Edict  of  Nov.  2.  P.  G.  S.  1810,  79  fif.  Cf.  Rohrscheidt,  Q>xd.,  375- 
379;  and  RoehJ,  Beitraege,  etc.,  89  flf. 


12  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

within  the  state.  This  license  could  not  be  refused  those 
holding  a  certificate  of  good  behavior  from  the  police. 
Exceptions  to  this  rule  were:  first,  certain  crafts  (such 
as  the  stone-masons',  the  carpenters',  and  the  chimney- 
sweepers') which  required  also  a  proof  of  qualification; 
and  secondly,  Jews,  who  were  restricted  to  certain  trades. 
Factory-employees  and  laborers  were  not  obliged  to  ob- 
tain a  license.  The  number  of  trades  in  which  a  single 
individual  might  engage  was  limited  only  by  the  number 
of  permits  he  held.  The  division  of  a  craft  into  various 
parts  was  abolished,  so  that  a  shoemaker  could  make 
both  shoes  and  slippers.  By  paying  the  difference  be- 
tween the  taxes  levied  upon  two  different  trades,  it  was 
possible  to  turn  at  any  time  from  one  to  the  other.  The 
bona  fide  attitude  of  the  state  in  this  connection  was 
evidenced  by  the  declaration  that  neither  a  corporation 
nor  an  individual  had  the  legal  right  to  object  to  the 
granting  of  licenses  or  to  the  privileges  they  conferred. 
The  government  also  decreed  that  exclusive  trade  privi- 
leges (Gewerbegerechtigkeiten)  not  connected  with  land, 
but  recorded  in  the  register  of  mortgages,  should  be 
redeemed.  Those  remaining  were  not  to  curtail  the  free- 
dom of  industry. 

All  previous  financial  obligations  connected  with  indus- 
trial pursuits  were  abolished,  and  those  clauses  of  the 
Prussian  Code  inconsistent  with  the  new  principle  were 
declared  null  and  void.  In  place  of  the  old  system  of 
taxes,  there  was  introduced  a  six-class  graduated  tax 
ranging,  according  to  the  volume  of  business,  from  one 
Thaler*^  to  two  hundred  Thaler  per  annum.  A  crafts- 
man, for  example,  who  made  goods  only  "to  order," 
and  without  an  assistant,  belonged  to  the  lowest  class, 
while  a  master-mason  or  a  master-carpenter  employing 

**  1  Thaler  —  approximately  75  cents. 


INTRODUCTION 


13 


more  than  fifty  journeymen  and  apprentices  belonged  to 
class  six. 

It  will  hardly  be  necessary  to  point  out  the  greater 
elasticity  of  the  system  inaugurated  by  this  edict.  It 
should  be  noted,  however,  that  the  place  of  this  measure 
in  the  evolution  of  industrial  freedom  is  indicated  by 
the  fact  that  it  abolished  Zunftswang,  but  not  the  Zunft. 

The  edict  of  1810  soon  met  with  a  great  deal  of  oppo- 
sition. It  was,  at  best,  an  inadequate  statement  of  the 
new  principle.  It  failed  to  take  into  consideration  the 
laws  immediately  preceding,  and  to  relate  itself  to  them. 
Hardenberg  realized  this  and  prepared  for  the  promul- 
gation of  supplementary  regulations.  *'  These  appeared 
in  the  following  year.  *^  According  to  the  new  law  the 
obligation  to  obtain  a  trade  license  did  not  free  a  person 
from  the  necessity  of  becoming  a  burgher.  Possession 
of  both  permit  and  burghership,  however,  entitled  him 
to  engage  in  any  craft  and  to  employ  journeymen  and 
apprentices,  without  being  obliged  to  join  a  guild. 

The  new  freedom  was  also  evident  from  the  clause 
permitting  a  member  of  a  guild  to  resign,  and  a  guild- 
journeyman  to  work  for  a  non-guild  master  without 
losing  his  guild-rights.  Guilds,  moreover,  could  resolve 
to  disband.  Upon  provocation,  they  could  be  dissolved 
by  the  police.  Exclusive  industrial  privileges  (Gewerbe- 
berechfigungen)  in  cities,  held  by  guilds  or  private  indi- 
viduals, were  to  be  redeemed;  those  in  rural  districts 
pertaining  to  brewing  and  distilling  were  to  be  retained 
by  the  present  owners.  Craftsmen  were  given  the  privi- 
lege of  selling  on  consignment  and  of  making  tools  neces- 
sary for  their  handicrafts,  without  procuring  a  special 
license. 

**Roehl,  Beitraege,  etc.,  129  ff. 

«L8W  of  Sept.  7,  1811.     P.G.S.  1811,  263  flf. 


14  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

The  right  to  engage  in  all  branches  of  a  particular 
craft  granted  by  the  trade  license  was  balanced  by  the 
increased  number  of  trades  requiring  proper  qualification 
for  admission.  Special  districts  (Zwangsbezirke)  for 
chimney-sweepers  were  retained  because  of  their  con- 
venience in  controlling  fire  conditions.  A  license  to 
engage  in  an  itinerant  trade  was  dependent  upon  a  cer- 
tificate of  approval  from  the  government.  This,  how- 
ever, did  not  apply  to  manufacturers,  craftsmen,  and 
merchants  taking  their  wares  to  an  annual  market,  or 
to  those  travelling  about  the  country  in  quest  of  raw 
material.  Foreigners,  visiting  annual  or  weekly  markets, 
were  obliged  to  procure  a  permit  only  if  they  desired 
to  engage  in  trade. 

The  law  of  1811  abolished  the  regulation  of  the  price 
of  foodstuffs  and  merchandise,  and  the  wage  regulation 
of  handicraftsmen.  This  action  was  a  decided  advance 
in  industrial  freedom,  and  was  consistent  with  the  new 
principle.  During  the  period  of  monopolies  (Zunft- 
zwang  and  Zwangs-  und  Bannrechte),"  the  state  had 
found  it  necessary  to  resort  to  these  measures  for  the 
protection  of  the  consumer  and  the  wage  earner.  In 
conjunction  with  the  November  edict  of  the  previous 
year,  the  law  of  181 1,  by  introducing  an  almost  unlim- 
ited **  degree  of  competition  of  goods  and  services,  put 
the  trades  of  the  provinces  remaining  under  the  control 
of  Prussia  on  a  liberal  basis. 

The  trade  tax  law  of  1820  *^  marks  the  culmination 
of  industrial  freedom  in  Prussia.  Although  not  affect- 
ing the  police  regulations  of  the  1810  and  181 1  legis- 

"  Zunftzwang  —  the  right  of  a  guild  to  force  every  individual  engaged 
in  the  particular  craft  to  join  the  guild. 

Zwanga-  und  Bannrechte  —  the  right  of  craftsmen  to  force  persons  living 
within  a  specified  district  to  purchase  exclusively  from  them. 

«Cf.  Uuehlen-Ordnung  of  Oct.  28,  1810,  §  1.     P.  G.  S.  1810,  98. 

«Law  of  May  30.  P.  G.  S.  1820,  147  flf.  Cf.  also  Eoehl,  Beitraege, 
186-188. 


INTRODUCTION  15 

lation,  it  did  change  the  tax  system  of  the  former. 
Among  those  taxed  under  the  new  law  were  merchants, 
craftsmen  employing  several  assistants,  and  peddlers. 
Small  handicraftsmen  were  exempt.  It  abolished  the 
license  requirement  for  all  trades  except  peddlery.  By 
dividing  urban  and  rural  communities,  according  to  their 
prosperity,  into  four  groups,  and  by  establishing  a  grad- 
uated tax,  based  on  the  volume  of  business  within  each 
group,  it  attempted  to  distribute  the  new  financial  obli- 
gations more  equitably.  ^^ 

After  Hardenberg's  death,  °^  the  general  character  of 
the  license  was  changed  so  as  to  permit  the  holder  to 
peddle  his  wares  or  offer  his  services  only  within  a 
specified  district.  The  kinds  of  wares  that  could  be  sold 
and  the  nature  of  the  services  that  might  be  rendered 
were  clearly  defined.  The  question  as  to  who  was  en- 
titled to  a  permit  was  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  gov- 
ernment. °^ 

The  foregoing  survey  of  the  chief  industrial  legisla- 
tion, from  the  resolution  of  the  Imperial  Diet  of  1731 
to  the  Industrial  Law  of  1845,  shows  the  following  marks 
of  progress :  first,  by  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
free-masters  were  infringing  upon  the  privileged  position 
of  guild-masters ;  secondly,  in  the  first  decade  of  the  fol- 
lowing century,  Zunftzwang  was  abolished,  and  the  right 
to  engage  in  a  trade  was  based  upon  a  license  and  a 
trade  tax  —  the  tax  being  levied  as  a  part  of  the  state's 
financial  policy,  not  as  a  curtailment  of  industrial  free- 
dom; thirdly,  in  the  second  decade,  the  license  regula- 
tion was  restricted  to  peddlers,  and  small  handicrafts- 
men were  exempt  from  paying  the  tax.  In  short,  indus- 
trial liberalism  was  fully  established  by  law  in  Prussia 
by  1820. 

^P.  G.  S.  1820,  156  ff;  especiaUy  schedule  H,  160. 

*'  Hardenberg  died  Nov.  27,   1822. 

^  Regulative  of  April  28,  1824.     P.  G.  S.  1824,  125  ff.     Cf.  also  22. 


l6  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

The  laws  and  edicts  issued  between  1806  and  1824 
were  applicable,  in  the  main,  only  to  those  provinces  of 
Prussia  which  she  possessed  in  the  decade  preceding  the 
Congress  of  Vienna  (1815).°'  In  the  territory  as  con- 
stituted after  1815,  there  existed  a  complex  industrial 
system.  The  Prussian  Code  was  introduced  into  all  the 
new  provinces ; "  but,  of  the  industrial  legislation  of  the 
early  nineteenth  century,  only  those  clauses  of  the  edict 
of  18 10  were  introduced  that  pertained  to  taxation.  The 
consequence  was  a  diversified  system  ranging  from  the 
industrial  liberalism  of  the  French  type  along  the  Rhine 
to  the  restrictive  guild  system  in  Saxony,  Posen,  and 
what  was  formerly  called  Swedish  Pomerania.  °' 

The  lack  of  uniformity  was  clearly  perceived  by  Har- 
denberg.  °®  In  1820  it  was  officially  stated  ^"^  that  the 
industrial  laws  of  all  the  provinces  would  be  revised. 
This  work,  although  begun  almost  immediately,  was  not 
completed  until  a  quarter  of  a  century  later. "®  The 
result  was  the  Industrial  Law  of  1845,  drawn  up  to 
establish  uniform  industrial  regulations  throughout  the 
kingdom. 

**  I.e.,  Brandenbnrg,  Pomerania,  East  and  West  Prussia,  Silesia. 
^  I.e.,  Swedish  Pomerania,  Posen,  Rhenish  Prussia,  Saxony,  and  West- 
phalia. 

»Roehl,  Beitraege,  173  ff.     Bohrscheidt,   ibid.,  578  S. 

"Roehl,  Beitraege,   181-182. 

""Law  of  May  30,  §  37,  P.  Q.  S.,  153. 

«Roehl,  Beitraege,  190. 


CHAPTER  I 
The  Industrial  Law  op  1845 

THE  purpose  of  the  Industrial  Law  (Allgemeine 
Gewerheordnung)  of  January  17,  1845,  was,  as 
has  been  pointed  out,  to  establish  a  uniform  sys- 
tem of  industry  in  all  the  provinces  of  Prussia.  By  de- 
claring this  law  to  be  supplementary  to  the  Edict  of  181 1, 
the  government  indicated  the  relationship  between  the 
latter  and  the  liberal  legislation  of  the  early  part  of  the 
century.  ^  The  preliminary  discussion  and  the  final 
draft  of  the  Industrial  Law  and  of  the  Act  of  Com- 
pensation have  been  treated  extensively  by  Roehl.  ^  A 
glance  at  his  bibliography,  however,  will  show  that  only 
in  three  instances  has  he  used  government  material  dated 
later  than  1845.  ^  I"  view  of  this,  it  will  not  be  mere 
repetition  to  restate  the  provisions  of  both  Acts,  and  to 

1  Order  of  Jan.  29.  Min.-Bl.  1847,  20.  The  Edict  of  Sept.  7,  1811,  must 
not  be  confused  with  the  Polizeigesetz  of  Sept.  7,  1811.  The  latter  dealt 
with  the  regulation  of  industry;  the  former  was  concerned  with  taxation. 
The  following  extract  from  the  introduction  to  the  edict  will  show  the  prin- 
ciples upon  which  it  was  based: 

"Die  Grundlagen  auf  welchen  das  im  vorigen  Jahre  ausgesprochene 
Abgaben-System  und  die  neuere  Gesetzgebung  beruhen :  Gleichheit  vor  dem 
Getsetz,  Eigenthum  des  Grund  und  Bodens,  freie  Benutzung  desselben  und 
Disposition  ueber  solchen,  G^werbefreiheit,  Aufhoeren  der  Zwangs-  und 
Bann-Gerechtigkeiten  und  Monopole,  Tragung  der  Abgaben  nach  gleichen 
Grundsaetzen  von  Jedermann,  Vereinfachung  derselben  und  freie  Erhebung, 
—  woUen  Wir  kelneswegs  verlassen,  Wir  woUen  vielmehr  fortwaehrend  auf 
solche  bauen,  da  Wir  sie  als  die  heUsamsten  fuer  die  Uns  anvertrauten 
Unterthanen  aller  Klassen  halten ;     .     .     .     .  " 

*  Roehl,  Beitraege,  etc.,  in  Schmoller's  St.  «.  sw.  Fgn.,  Bd.  17,  Heft.  4, 
189-271. 

*  "Acta  hetr.  die  Massregeln  zv/r  Emporbringung  der  Febriken  Ein-  und 
Ausfuhr  der  Fahrikate,  Beschwerden  dagegen  u.  e.  w."    (1823-48.) 

"Acta  hetr.  die  Realberechtigungen  im  Grossherzogtwm  Poaen,  ingleichen 
die  Aufhebung  aller  gewerblichen  Zwangs-  und  Bannrechte  daaelbst." 
(1825-47.) 

"Acta  betr.  den  Entwurf  einer  Verodnung  fuer  naehere  Erklaerung  der 
Bestimmungen  in  §  30  des  Oewerbesteu^rgesetzee  vom  XI.  1810"  (1829-47). 


l8  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

indicate  the  modifications  made  between  1845  ^uid  1849.* 
The  first  question  to  be  taken  up  by  the  new  legisla- 
tion was  the  abolition  of  restrictions  upon  industry  still 
prevalent  in  various  parts  of  the  kingdom.  These  re- 
strictions may  be  divided  into  five  classes. 

The  first  comprised  all  rights  and  privileges  to  exclude 
a  person  from  a  trade  or  to  restrict  him  in  the  pursuit 
thereof  (ausschliessliche  Gewerbeherechtigungen) .  The 
amount  of  compensation  for  these  rights  was  determined 
by  their  value  at  the  time  of  abolition.  Each  case  was 
to  be  decided  upon  its  merits.  If  these  rights  pertained 
to  fixed  trades  (stehende  Gewerhe),^  their  value  was 
computed  by  taking  the  average  price  for  which  they 
were  sold  or  leased.  If  that  was  impossible,  owing  to 
the  fact  that  these  rights  had  not  been  leased  or  sold 
for  many  years,  their  value  was  calculated  on  the  basis 
of  the  tax  register,  or  by  some  other  method.  In  all 
cases  in  which  the  net  returns  were  used  as  the  basis  of 
compensation,  the  value  of  the  right  was  obtained  by 
multiplying  the  amount  of  the  returns  by  twenty-five. 

The  next  step  was  the  conversion  of  the  right  into  a 
certificate  (Bntschaedigungsanerkenntnis)  *  bearing  3^ 
interest  and  payable  by  those  who  were  engaged  in  the 
trade  in  a  particular  town  or  district.    Should  the  crafts- 

*  The  new  material  used  is : 

"MinisterialBlatt  filer  die  gesamte  innere  Yerwalttmg  in  den  Eoenig- 
lieh  Preussischen  Staaten"    (1846-48). 

"Gentral-Blatt  der  Ahgahen,  Oewerbe  und  Handelsgesetzgehung  und 
Yerwaltung  in  den  Eoeniglich  Preussischen  Staaten"    (1845-49). 

"Amts-Blatt  der  Koeniglichen  Begierung  zu  Potsdam  und  der  Stadt 
Berlin"    (1845-49). 
*Cf.  p.  26. 
•Form  of  Entschaedigungsanerkenntnis: 

"Anf  Grund  der  Verhandlungen  ueber  den  Entschaedigungsanspmch 
des  N,  zu  N.  in  Betreff  des  mit  seiner  Grewerbeberechtigung  verbunden 
gewesenen  durch  die  Allgemeine  Gewerbeordnung  von  17  Januar  1845  auf- 
gehobenen  Rechts  Andern  den  Betrieb  des  .  .  .  Gewerbes  in  N.  zu 
nntersagen,  wird  hierdnrch  dem  §  11  des  Entschaedigungsgesetzes  vom  17 
Januar  1845  gemaess  bescheinigt,  dass  die  dem  N.  fner  den  Verlust  jener 
Berechtigung  zu  gewaehrende  Entschaedigung  durch  Beschluss  der  Koenig- 
lichen Regierung  zu  N.  (der  unterzeichneten  Koeniglichen  Regierung)  auf 
— THr. — Sgr. — Pf.   geschrieben   festgesetzt  ist."      (,Min.-Bl.   1847,  263.) 


INDUSTRIAL  LAW  OF  1845  19 

men  not  be  able  to  pay  all  of  the  interest,  the  com- 
munity was  obliged  to  make  up  the  deficit.  A  sinking 
fund  was  established  by  assessments  levied  upon  the 
craftsmen  and  the  community.  Money  left  over  after 
a  dissolved  guild  had  met  all  its  obligations  was  also 
deposited  in  this  fund. 

Persons  holding  certificates  which  represented  con- 
verted perpetual  and  exclusive  trade  rights  and  privi- 
leges, were  permitted  to  dispose  of  them  by  will,  or 
otherwise.  These  certificates  bore  interest  until  re- 
deemed. Those,  however,  whose  claim  represented 
rights  and  privileges  for  life  or  some  other  specified 
period,  were  entitled  to  an  annuity  only  for  the  duration 
of  the  claim.  A  sum  equal  to  twenty-five  times  the 
annuity  was  taken  to  be  a  fair  compensation.  Urban 
bakers,  brewers,  and  butchers,  possessing  exclusive 
trade  privileges,  even  if  connected  with  coercive  rights 
{Zwangs-  imd  Bannrechte)  were  to  receive  compensa- 
tion according  to  this  schedule. 

Compensation  for  exclusive  industrial  privileges  per- 
taining to  itinerant  trades  (Gewerbebetrieb  im  Umher- 
ziehen)  was  not  granted  to  the  lessee  unless  the  privi- 
lege had  been  acquired  by  the  payment  of  a  fixed  sum. 
The  lessor,  however,  was  entitled  to  an  annuity  calcu- 
lated on  the  basis  of  the  average  net  income  derived 
from  181 7  to  1836  inclusive.  This  annuity  was  redeem- 
able by  the  payment  of  a  sum  twenty-five  times  the 
amount.  All  compensations  for  the  abolition  of  privi- 
leges of  this  type  were  payable  by  the  state  treasury.  '^ 

The  second  class  of  restrictions  abolished  by  the  law 
of  1845  consisted  of  rights  to  grant  concessions  to  en- 
gage in  particular  trades.     The  regulations  concerning 

»  Gewerbeordnung  §  1.  P.  (7.  S.  1845,  41.  Entschaedigungageaetz  §§  1, 
7 — 24.     P.  G.  S.  1845,   79  fif.     Of.  pp.  14  and  22. 


20  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

compensation  were  identical  with  those  pertaining  to 
itinerant  trades.  * 

The  third  class  comprised  all  rights  to  collect  duties 
for  granting  permission  to  carry  on  a  trade.  Only  the 
duties  stipulated  in  the  trade  tax  law  of  1820  were 
retained.  In  case  of  doubt  as  to  whether  a  duty  rested 
on  a  trade  or  on  land,  the  latter  was  presumed,  and  the 
duty  had  to  be  paid.  Compensation  was  provided  accord- 
ing to  the  rules  pertaining  to  itinerant  trades. ' 

The  fourth  class  included  all  coercive  rights  (Zwangs- 
und  Bannrechte)  belonging  to  the  exchequer  of  the  state 
or  of  a  municipality,  or  to  a  corporation  of  craftsmen, 
provided  the  craft  corporation  possessed  those  rights 
on  the  day  on  which  the  Industrial  Law  was  published 
(January  17,  1845)  ^^  ^^^  transferred  them  not  later 
than  December  31,  1836,  These  rights  were  abolished 
without  compensation.  ^°  Other  rights  in  this  class  were 
those  which,  according  to  their  charter,  might  be  revoked 
without  compensation,^^  and  the  rights  of  millers,  bakers, 
butchers,  distillers,  and  brewers  to  force  consumers  to 
trade  exclusively  with  them  —  in  so  far  as  these  rights 
were  not  included  in  the  first  two  classes,  and  provided 
that  they  were  not  based  on  an  agreement  between  the 
parties  concerned.  The  value  of  the  coercive  right  of 
millers  {Mahlzwang)  was  calculated  by  allowing  one- 
half  peck  of  rye  per  capita  for  the  population  in  the 
coercive  district  {Zwangshezirk)  and  by  multiplying  the 
amount  of  rye  thus  obtained  by  the  average  market  price 
prevailing  between  18 15  and  1844  at  the  nearest  market 
town.  The  result  was  the  annuity,  which,  if  multiplied 
by  twenty-five,  represented  the  amount  of  compensation 

*  Gewerbeordnung   §   2 ;    Entschaedigungsgesetz   §§   25-27. 

•  Gewerbeordnung  §  3 ;  Entschaedigungsgesetz  §§  25-27. 
^"Gewerbeordnung  §  4  (1);  Entachaedigungsgeaetz  §  2. 
^Gewerbeordnung  §  4   (2). 


INDUSTRIAL  LAW  OF  1845  ^I 

payable  by  the  state  treasury.  Compensation  for  the 
other  rights  of  this  group  (bakers,  butchers,  distillers, 
and  brewers)  was  determined  solely  on  the  basis  of  the 
net  returns.  ^- 

Coercive  industrial  privileges  not  included  in  class 
four  might  be  redeemed  at  the  option  of  the  individual 
corporation  or  community  obligated.  Their  value  was 
determined  by  their  recent  selling  or  renting  price,  or, 
if  they  had  not  changed  hands  recently,  by  the  net 
income  derived  from  them.  An  annuity  was  paid  by 
those  subject  to  coercion  (Zwang).  The  obligation 
could  be  liquidated  by  the  payment  of  a  sum  equal  to 
twenty-five  times  the  annuity.  ^^ 

The  fifth  class  included  those  restrictions  which  set 
up  a  distinct  line  of  demarkation  between  urban  and  rural 
communities  for  limiting  certain  trades  to  towns.  The 
abolition  of  these  restrictions  did  not  involve  compen- 
sation. " 

State  monopolies,  patent,  flayer,  and  ferry-rights  were 
not  included  in  the  list  of  abolished  or  of  redeemable 
rights  and  privileges.  In  so  far,  however,  as  ferry- 
rights  were  exclusive,  they  might  be  abolished  with  due 
compensation  by  the  ministry.  ^' 

To  prevent  the  re-introduction  of  exclusive  and  co- 
ercive rights  declared  null  and  void,  the  law  provided 
that,  in  the  future,  they  could  not  be  acquired  by  pre- 
scription. Nor  could  similar  rights  be  obtained  by  con- 
tract, or  otherwise,  for  more  than  ten  years.  Any 
agreement  of  indemnification,  in  case  the  contract  or 
other  arrangement  were  not  renewed,  was  void.  Another 
feature  of  the  Industrial  Law  of  1845,  bound  to  operate 

"  Gewerbeordnung  §  4    (3) ;   Entschdedigungsgesetz  §§   29-33. 
^  Qewerbeordnung  §   5;  Entachaedigungsgeaetz  §§  34-36. 
^*  Gewerbeordnung  §  12. 
^'Ibid.,  §§  6-9. 


22  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

against  the  re-introduction  of  monopoly  privileges,  was 
the  rule  that  any  one  might  engage  in  several  trades 
simultaneously,  unless  otherwise  provided  by  law.  ^' 

In  the  development  of  economic  liberalism  in  Prussia, 
the  general  abolition  and  redemption  of  time-honored 
monopolies  restrictive  of  industrial  intercourse  is  no 
mean  step  forward.  The  advance  upon  similar  legis- 
lation under  Stein  and  Hardenberg  is  evidenced  by  the 
general  character  of  the  regulations  of  the  new  law  and 
the  extension  of  its  provisions  to  the  whole  monarchy, 
as  constituted  after  the  Congress  of  Vienna  (1815).^' 
Presumably,  the  granting  of  compensation  was  due  to 
respect  for  personal  rights. 

After  disposing  of  the  question  of  special  privilege, 
the  Industrial  Law  of  1845  proceeds  to  prescribe  the 
rules  for  engaging  in  trades.  It  distinguishes  between 
itinerant  and  fixed  trades.  With  regard  to  itinerant 
trades  (Gewerbebetrieb  im  Umherziehen),  it  provides 
that  previous  regulations  shall  remain  in  force,  except 
in  so  far  as  they  are  affected  by  the  abolition  of  exclu- 
sive and  coercive  privileges  and  by  the  abrogation  of 
restrictions  upon  Jews.  ^* 

The  regulations  referred  to  are  primarily  those  of 
1824  and  1836.  The  former,  issued  because  of  diver- 
gent opinions  concerning  the  trade  tax  law  of  1820, 
takes  up  in  detail  the  whole  question  of  itinerant  trades. 
It  defines  them  as  trades  in  the  pursuit  of  which  wares 
are  carried  about  and  offered  for  sale  on  the  street,  in 
public  inns,  and  in  private  houses,  and  as  enterprises 
consisting  either  in  the  purchase  of  articles  at  the  afore- 
said places  for  the  purpose  of  reselling  them,  or  in  the 
seeking  of  orders  for  goods.    Merchants,  manufacturers, 

"Jbwi.,  S§  11  and  13. 

"Cf.  p.  9  flf;  also  p.  16,  footnotes  No.  53  and  54. 

^  Oewerbeordnung,  §  14;  also  §§   1-4  and  60. 


INDUSTRIAL  LAW  OF  1845  23 

and  craftsmen  taking  their  wares  to  annual  markets  for 
the  purpose  of  selling  them  from  booths,  and  those  who 
take  to  weekly  markets  such  goods  as  the  local  authori- 
ties permit  strangers  to  sell  there,  are  not  included  in 
this  category.  Nor  does  it  pertain  to  nationals  or  their 
agents  who  travel  about  the  country  in  quest  of  raw 
material  for  their  factories.^*  Foreigners  are  restricted 
in  the  kinds  of  articles  they  may  peddle  and  in  the  nature 
of  the  services  they  may  offer.  They  may,  however,  go 
about  in  quest  of  orders.  ^° 

Persons  desiring  to  engage  in  an  itinerant  trade  were 
obliged  to  procure  a  trade  license.  If  they  remained 
within  the  police  jurisdiction  of  their  town,  a  permit 
from  the  local  police  authorities  was  sufficient.  Glaziers 
and  chimney-sweepers,  who,  by  the  very  nature  of  their 
work,  were  restricted  to  a  specific  district,  were  not 
required  to  obtain  a  license.  This  applied  also  to  their 
apprentices  and  journeymen.  Two  years  after  the  pro- 
mulgation of  the  Industrial  Law,  licenses  could  be  issued 
to  foreigners  by  the  local  authorities,  without  obtaining 
the  approval  of  the  ministry.  The  tendency  was  to  be- 
come more  liberal  in  the  requirements  regarding  trade 
licenses  with  respect  to  both  nationals  and  foreigners.  ^^ 

Originally,  the  trade  license  allowed  the  holder  to  ped- 
dle his  wares  only  within  the  district  of  the  province 
that  granted  it.  This  privilege,  however,  could  be 
extended  to  other  districts  if  the  license  were  viseed  by 
the  authorities  of  the  several  districts.  The  ruling  of 
later  orders,  that  this  privilege  was  not  to  be  refused, 
except  in  special  cases,  was  sustained  in  1846.  ^^  A  per- 
son possessing  a  license  was  permitted  to  ply  his  trade 

^L&vr  of  April  28,  1824,  §§  1-5,  P.  G.  S.  1824,  126-127;  Cabinet  Order 
of  March  27,   1828,  P.  O.  S.   1828,  49. 
^Law  of  1824,  §   12. 

a /bid.,  §§  2-4,  6-7.     Uin.Bl.  1847,  25-26.     Central-Bl.  1847,  164-165. 
^Min.-Bl.  1846,  146. 


24  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

within  the  district  or  districts  specified  during  the  period 
of  annual  and  weekly  markets,  and  at  non-market  peri- 
ods from  one  to  eight  days,  according  to  the  size  of 
the  town.  At  least  four  weeks  must  have  elapsed  before 
he  might  return  to  the  same  place.  This  did  not  apply, 
however,  to  venders  of  farm  and  dairy  products,  fruit- 
sellers,  or  fishmongers.  ^^  As  early  as  1826,  it  was  de- 
creed that  merchants  and  their  assistants  travelling 
about  the  country  in  quest  of  orders  or  for  the  purpose 
of  buying  goods  to  resell — provided  they  did  not  carry 
these  goods  with  them,  but  sent  them  by  freight — were 
entitled  to  go  anywhere  in  the  monarchy  on  the  basis  of 
their  trade  license.  -* 

The  kinds  of  wares  for  the  peddling  of  which  licenses 
might  be  issued  were:  products  of  garden,  dairy,  field, 
forest,  and  river ;  -°  wastes  of  trades ;  iron,  steel  and 
earthen  wares ;  linen,  cotton,  and  hempen  goods.  The 
following  persons  were  permitted  to  offer  their  services 
from  place  to  place :  repairers  of  various  articles,  bas- 
ket-weavers, wood-clock  makers,  rat-catchers,  players, 
and  musicians.  ^' 

In  addition  to  the  law  of  1824  retained  by  the  Indus- 

»Law  of  1824,   §§  21-22. 

"^P.   O.  S.   1828,   61-62. 

^An  order  of  April  20,  1845,  is  interesting  in  this  connection.  It 
permits  trustworthy  persons  to  sell  food  and  drink  to  railway  laborers, 
and  allows  them  to  advance  with  the  progress  of  construction.  This  order 
Bhows  the  effect  of  railway  building  upon  itinerant  trading.  (Central- Bl. 
1845,   154-155). 

«  Law  of  1824,  §§  14,  17-18. 

The  general  attitude  of  the  government  toward  itinerant  trading 
is  perhaps  best  illustrated  by  the  following  order: 

"Die  Bestimmung  des  Cirkular-Rescripts  vom  10  Maerz  1838,  wonaeh 
der  Hausirhandel  mit  Dmckschriften  verboten  ist,  findet  auch  auf  Noten, 
denen  der  Liedertext  beigedruckt  ist,  gleichmaesige  Anwendung,  da  der- 
gleichen   Noten  zu  den   Dmckschriften  mit  zu  rechnen   sind. 

"Aber  auch  der  Hausirhandel  mit  anderen  Musikalien  kann,  da  ein 
Beduerfnis  zu  einem  solchen  Handel  nicht  vorliegt,  die  Gestattung  des- 
selben  auch  leicht  zur  gleichzeitigen  Verbreitung  von  Dmckschriften 
gemissbraucht  werden  kann,  nicht  fuer  zulaessig  erachtet  werden,  und 
wird  die  Koenigliche  Regiemng  daher  angewiesen,  zu  einem  solchen 
Handel  unter  keinen  Umstaenden  ferner  Gewerbescheine  zn  ertheilen." 
(Centrol-BI.  1845,  244). 


INDUSTRIAI,  LAW  OF  1845  25 

trial  Law, "  there  were  in  operation  in  1845  trade  tax 
regulations  of  1836.  These  provided  for  a  more  equit- 
able taxation  of  itinerant  trades  than  was  possible  under 
the  law  of  1820.  Later  an  eightfold  increase  of  the  tax 
was  permitted  upon  foreigners  whose  states  discrimin- 
ated against  Prussians.  ^*  After  a  treaty  of  reciprocity 
had  been  concluded  between  the  Customs  Union  and 
Belgium,  Prussia  decreed  that  Belgian  manufacturers 
and  tradesmen  engaging  in  itinerant  pursuits  in  Prussia 
should  be  exempt  from  payment  of  the  trade  tax,  if  they 
had  paid  it  at  home.  ^* 

The  growing  liberalism  in  industry  was  manifest  in 
the  increasing  recognition  of  the  right  of  Jews  to  en- 
gage in  itinerant  trades.  Until  1845,  they  were  wholly 
excluded  from  these  trades.  ^°  The  Industrial  Law  al- 
lowed them  or  their  agents  to  go  about  the  country  in 
quest  of  orders  or  to  purchase  wares  with  a  view  to 
reselling  them.  ^^  Two  years  later  the  remaining  restric- 
tions were  removed  in  all  provinces  except  Posen.  In 
this  province,  a  distinction  was  made  between  natural- 
ized and  unnaturalized  Jews.  The  former  were  accorded 
the  same  itinerant  trade  privileges  as  their  co-religionists 
in  other  parts  of  the  monarchy.  The  latter  were  ex- 
cluded from  itinerant  trades.  ^^ 

The  evolution  of  industrial  freedom  in  Prussia  with 
respect  to  itinerant  trades  is  marked,  as  shown  above, 
by  a  wider  operation  of  the  principle  of  reciprocity 
toward  foreigners,  a  growing  tendency  to  recognize  the 
trade  license  in  every  part  of  the  monarchy,  irrespective 
of  the  place  where  it  was  issued,  and  an  almost  complete 

''Cf.  p.  22. 

«P.  G.  S.   1837,   14-16;  1843,   301. 

'^Min.-Bl.   1847,   104. 

*"P.  G.  S.  1812,   21;  1833,   71. 

"1  Gewerbeordnung,   §  60. 

*^P.  G.  S.  1847,   264,  268,  269. 


26  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

removal  of  Jewish  disabilities.  In  the  matter  of  wares 
and  services,  hardly  any  progress  is  observable. 

In  addition  to  the  regulations  concerning  itinerant 
trades,  the  Industrial  Law  of  1845  ^^so  provides  for  the 
establishment  of  fixed  trades  (stehende  Gewerhe).  After 
defining  fixed  trades  as  trades  that  are  not  carried  on 
by  travelling  about,  it  specifies  who  may  engage  in 
them  and  what  the  manner  of  establishing  them  shall 
be.  In  the  interest  of  the  orderly  progress  of  industry, 
the  law  permitted  persons  who  conducted  a  trade  before 
1845  to  continue  therein,  even  though  they  did  not  sat- 
isfy the  new  rules.  ^^ 

The  qualifications  for  establishing  a  fixed  trade  were 
possession  of  the  legal  right  to  dispose  of  one's  property 
and  a  permanent  domicile  in  the  state.  ^*  As  women 
were  allowed  to  engage  in  a  trade  with  the  consent  of 
their  husbands,  a  bankrupt  could  continue  his  trade  in 
his  wife's  name.  A  ministerial  order  of  a  later  date 
interpreted  the  Industrial  Law  to  mean  that  any  woman 
properly  qualified  might  establish  a  fixed  trade  in  her 
own  name.  ^'  Although  foreigners  could  engage  in 
fixed  trades  only  by  permission  of  the  ministry,  unless 
otherwise  specified  by  treaty,  the  nationals  of  states 
belonging  to  the  Customs  Union  were  permitted  the  full 
enjoyment  of  industrial  freedom  because  of  the  treaties 
of  reciprocity  forming  the  Union.  ^'  Members  of  the 
army  and  state  officials  could  carry  on  fixed  trades  only 
with  the  consent  of  their  superiors.  In  principle,  the 
acquisition  of  burghership  was  not  required.  But  as 
the  Municipal  Law  of  1808  was  still  in  force,  a  Prussian 
might  be  obliged  to  acquire  the  status  of  a  burgher  in 

••  Oevierheordnung,  §   15. 
•*Ihid.,   §    16. 

«Jftn.-BZ.  1846,  44-45    (Decrees  of  Jan.  23  and  Feb.  28). 
*^  ZoUverein  treaty  of  1833  and  succeeding  treaties.     Also  Min.-Bl.  1846, 
15. 


INDUSTRIAL  LAW  OF  1845  2^ 

the  city  in  which  he  desired  to  establish  his  enterprise. 
Although  this  could  not  be  required  of  foreigners,  they 
were  expected  to  pay  the  municipal  taxes  payable  by  all 
burghers.  ^^ 

Persons  desiring  to  engage  in  a  fixed  trade  had  to 
inform  the  local  police  authorities  of  their  intention.  If 
there  were  no  objections,  a  certificate  was  issued  stat- 
ing that  the  person  concerned  had  complied  with  all 
regulations.  Industrial  establishments  that  might  prove 
injurious  or  annoying  to  the  community,  and  certain 
trades,  crafts,  and  professions  that  required  technical 
skill  or  presupposed  good  character,  required  a  special 
permit.  In  many  cases,  this  permit  was  issued  only 
after  the  applicant  had  successfully  passed  an  examina- 
tion. Certain  occupations,  such  as  apothecary,  auc- 
tioneer, and  surveyor,  were  restricted  to  Christians  until 
1847,  when  Jews  were  admitted.  All  other  fixed  trades 
were  opened  to  Jews  by  the  Industrial  Law.  ^* 

Every  one  entitled  to  engage  in  a  fixed  trade  had  the 
right  to  display  in  his  shop  wares  made  by  himself  or 
by  others,  to  take  orders,  both  inside  and  outside  his 
place  of  business,  to  deliver  the  goods  he  sold,  and 
to  sell  his  wares  at  markets.  Moreover,  he  might  make 
or  purchase  all  necessary  materials  and  tools.  All  these 
privileges  he  might  delegate  to  an  agent.  Under  no 
condition  could  he  be  curtailed  in  his  trade  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  new  incorporeal  hereditaments.  Offences 
against  the  Industrial  Law  were  punished  by  temporary 
suspension  or  permanent  revocation  of  the  right  to  es- 
tablish a  trade.  ^^ 

The  hberalism  of  the  fixed  trade  system  lies  in  its 
flexibility.     Not  only  are  the  requirements  for  estab- 

*"Uin.-Bl.   1846,  69. 

^Gewerbecrdmi^g,  §§  26-58,  190.     P.  G.  S.  1847,  264,  §  4;  269,  §  33. 

»/6Mt.,  §§  59-61,  64-65,  69,  171. 


28  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN   PRUSSIA 

lishing  trades  low,  but  women  and  Jews  are  admitted 
in  their  own  right,  and  foreigners  on  the  basis  of  reci- 
procity. It  is,  moreover,  the  system  of  the  store,  in 
which  wares  made  by  the  owner  or  purchased  by  him 
are  displayed,  as  compared  with  the  system  of  the  shop 
in  which  the  craftsman,  who  is  a  member  of  a  guild 
and  an  employer  of  journeymen  and  apprentices,  pro- 
duces the  articles  of  his  craft  as  he  receives  orders  for 
them.  There  are,  of  course,  restrictions  in  the  interest 
of  the  common  weal. 

The  privilege  of  frequenting  fairs  (Messe)  ***  and 
weekly  and  annual  markets  to  buy  and  sell  is  granted 
to  nationals  without  discrimination;  and  foreigners  are 

*>  The  distinction  between  a  fair  and  a  market  is  clearly  set  forth  in  the 
following  report  on  Terkehr  auf  den  Metsen  im  ZoUvereinsgebiet  1844: 

"Messen  sind  grosse  Maerkte,  welche  in  gewissen  Orten  Jaehrlich 
an  feststehenden  Terminen  ein  oder  mehrere  Male  abgehalten  werden.  Sie 
nnterscheiden  sich  von  gewoehnlichen  Maerkten  dnrch  ihre  laengere  Daner, 
hauptsaechlich  aber  durch  den  bedeutendern  Umfang  des  Verkehrs,  indem 
den  Messen — so  weit  sie  einmal  in  Ruf  slnd — Waaren  der  mannigfaltigsten 
Art,  zum  Theil  in  grosser  Menge,  ans  dem  In-nnd-Auslande  zuip  Verkaufe 
angefnehrt  werden  nnd  dadurch  den  Kaeufern,  insbesondere  den  Klein- 
haendlem,  die  Gelegenheit  geboten  wird,  nicht  nnr  nene  Erzeugnisse  des 
Gewerbefleisses  kennen  zu  lemen,  sondern  die  Fabrikate  der  yerschiedenen 
Laender,  Orte  und  Oewerbsanlagen,  nach  Preis,  Gnete,  Geschmack  und 
etwanige  Eigentuemlichkeit,  mit  einander  zn  vergleichen  und  sich  in  weni- 
gen  Tagen  auf  die  bequemste  Art  und  in  groesster  Auswahl  fuer  einen 
laengern   Zeitraum  mit  Waaren  zu  versorgen. 

"Die  Messen,  welche  zu  einer  Zeit  entstanden,  wo  die  Mangelhaftigkeit 
der  Kommunikations-Anstalten  und  die  Unsicherheit  der  Landstrassen  es 
■dem  Handel  zum  dringenden  Beduerfnisse  machten,  auf  einigen  bequem 
:gelegenen  Funkten  dergleichen  Einrichtungen  zur  Vermittelung  des  Ver- 
kehrs zu  besitzen,  haben  von  ihrer  fruehern  Bedeutung  und  Wichtigkeit 
viel  verloren,  denn  es  leuchtet  ein,  dass  jetzt,  wo  die  kaufmaennischs 
Korresi)ondenz  durch  die  Postanstalten  leicht  und  sicher  befoerdert  wird, 
In  Handels-  und  anderer  groesseren  Staedten  Jahr  aus  Jahr  ein  bedeutende 
Waarenlager  gehalten  werden,  die  Reise-  und  Transportmittel  in  hohem 
Grade  vervollkommnet  sind  und  Pabrikanten  und  Grosshaendler  ihren 
Absatz  durch  Reisende  zu  bewirken  suchen,  welche  auf  vorgezeigte  Muster 
~Bestellungen  entgegennehmen,  das  Beduerfnis  solcher  Vermittelungspunkte 
fuer  Ausgebot  und  Nachfrage,  wie  es  die  Messen  sind,  sich  mehr  nnd 
mehr  verliert.  Die  bin  und  wieder  gemachten  Versuche  neue  Messen 
zu  gruenden  sind  deshalb  auch  fruchtlos  geblieben.  Selbst  von  frueher 
bestandenen  Messen  sind  einzelne  ganz  eingegangen  oder  zu  Maerkten 
herabgesunken ;  andere  dagegen  haben  sich,  theils  durch  die  Macht  der 
Gewohnheit,  theils  unter  dem  zusammenwirkenden  Einflusse  verschiedener 
■guenstiger  Umstaende — bis  auf  den  heutigen  Tag  erhalten  und  koennen 
■sogar  noch  jetzt  imnierhin  als  wichtigR  Handels-Institute  betrachtet  werden. 

"Im  Umfange  des  Zollvereinsgebiets  werden  dermalen  jaehrlich  11 
lessen  abgehalten  und  zwar:  a.  in  Frankfurt  a.  0.  3,  b.  in  Naumburg  1. 
•c.  in  Leipzig  3.  d.  in  Braunschweig  2,  e.  in  Frankfurt  a.  M.  2."  {Central- 
Bl.  1848,  98-99). — ^Frankfurt  a.  0.  and  Naumburg  are  in  Prussia. 


INDUSTRIAL  LAW  OF  1845  29 

treated  on  the  basis  of  reciprocity.  The  number,  time, 
and  duration  of  markets  are  determined  by  the  min- 
istry. Those  possessing  the  right  to  hold  markets 
(Marktberechtigte)  are  obliged  to  submit  to  this  rule. 
They  may  claim  compensation  only  in  case  the  number 
of  markets  has  been  reduced,  despite  the  fact  that  it 
had  been  specifically  and  irrevocably  fixed.  The  only 
charges  that  may  legally  be  levied  at  markets  are  rents 
for  the  use  of  space,  booths,  and  fixtures.  *^ 

The  articles  of  the  weekly  market  trade  are  raw- 
products  of  nature,  except  the  larger  types  of  cattle, 
fresh  provisions,  and  manufactured  goods  connected  with 
agriculture,  forestry,  and  fishing.  Alcoholic  beverages 
are  excluded.  Provincial  governments  must  issue  a  list 
of  articles  that,  according  to  the  general  law  and  the 
local  custom,  belong  to  the  legitimate  market  trade.  This 
list  must  be  approved  by  the  ministry.  *^  Two  years 
later,  the  number  of  articles  was  increased.  *' 

With  regard  to  peddling  at  markets,  the  tendency  was 
to  grant  more  freedom.  **  The  extent  to  which  objects 
of  the  market  trade  might  be  sold  at  non-market  periods 
on  the  street  and  from  boats,  or  peddled  from  house 
to  house,  was  determined  by  local  custom  and  the  gen- 
eral regulations  pertaining  to  itinerant  trading.  Arrange- 
ments whereby  certain  classes  of  buyers  could  not  pur- 
chase food  during  the  entire  market  period,  could  be 
retained  only  by  permission  of  the  provincial  govern- 
ment. In  the  interest  of  the  market,  articles  of  the 
market  trade  brought  to  town  could  be  sold  only  at 
the  market  place  on  market  days.  This  forbade  their 
sale  at  the  gates  of  the  town.  *' 

*^  Oewerheordnung,  §§  75-77. 

*^Ihid.,  §  78. 

^'Min.Bl.   1847,   2.5-26. 

**  Oentral-Bl.   1847,   164-165    (Order  of  Aug.  31). 

*^  Oewerheordnung,  §§  79-80,  86. 


30 


INDUSTRIAL   FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 


The  rules  pertaining  to  weekly  markets  applied  also 
to  annual,  Christmas,  wool,  cattle,  butter,  yarn,  and 
linen  markets.  At  annual  markets,  tropical  fruits,  for- 
eign spices,  and  manufactured  goods  of  every  descrip- 
tion, in  addition  to  the  objects  of  the  weekly  market 
trade,  might  be  sold.  The  liberal  attitude  toward  fairs 
and  markets  was  further  evidenced  by  the  removal  of 
the  restrictions  on  the  sale  of  goods  left  over.  *" 

In  harmony  with  the  principle  of  free  competition 
now  uniformly  introduced  into  all  the  Prussian  provinces, 
the  regulation  of  prices,  unless  otherwise  specified,  was 
ordered  discontinued  within  a  year.  The  regulation  of 
the  price  of  bread,  however,  if  justified  by  circumstances, 
might  be  retained  or  even  introduced  with  the  approval 
of  the  ministry.  It  was  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
local  police  department  to  force  bakers  and  inn-keepers 
to  post  a  monthly  list  of  prices  at  a  specified  place.  This 
department  could  also  publish  the  names  of  bakers  that 
made  the  best  and  the  largest  loaves,  and  of  those  who 
baked  the  smallest  and  the  poorest.  *^ 

Moreover,  the  local  authorities  had  the  power  to  fix 
the  amount  which  chimney-sweepers,  flayers,  porters,  and 
other  persons  publicly  offering  their  services  might 
charge.  The  same  applied  to  those  who  offered  to  rent 
out  horses,  carriages,  sedan  chairs,  gondolas,  and  other 
means  of  transportation  occup)ring  a  public  stand.  Pre- 
sumably for  the  protection  of  the  public,  the  law  per- 
mitted the  introduction  of  wage  regulation  with  respect 
to  certain  trades  concerning  which  it  had  not  hitherto 
existed.  This,  however,  did  not  pertain  to  craftsmen 
in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term.  Tradesmen  guilty  of  dis- 
regarding wage  and  price  regulations  were  subject  to  fine 

»Jbid.,  §§  82-85,  87. 

"Ibid.j  S§  88-91.     Mm.-Bl.  1846,  107;  1847,  26. 


INDUSTRIAL  LAW  OF  1845  31 

or  imprisonment.  Upon  the  third  offense  their  right  to 
continue  in  the  independent  pursuit  of  their  trade  could 
be  temporarily  suspended  or  permanently  revoked.  ** 

The  Industrial  Law  of  1845  permitted  craft  guilds 
to  remain,  but  did  not  re-introduce  the  ^unftzwang.  ** 
In  so  far  as  the  acquisition  of  commercial  rights  was 
dependent  upon  joining  a  commercial  guild,  the  old 
Zwang  still  held  sway.  With  respect  to  craft  guilds,  the 
new  law  distinguished  between  the  existing  ones  (old 
guilds)  and  those  which  might  be  formed  under  certain 
conditions  (new  guilds).  To  bring  the  old  guilds  into 
harmony  with  the  new  economic  conditions,  it  was  de- 
creed that  they  modify  their  constitution  and  by-laws. 
This  modification  might  be  effected  by  the  amalgamation 
of  several  old  guilds,  or  by  the  union  of  an  old  and  a 
new  guild.  Other  changes  introduced  were:  (i)  the 
right  of  members  in  good  standing  to  resign  and  con- 
tinue their  trade;  (2)  dissolution  of  a  guild  by  a  motion 
sustained  by  two-thirds  of  its  voting  members — provided 
arrangements  were  made  to  meet  its  financial  obliga- 
tions and  the  government  sanctioned  the  procedure;  (3) 
dissolution  of  a  guild  by  the  government  for  reasons  of 
public  welfare,  even  against  the  guild's  will. 

The  funds  of  a  dissolved  guild  were  to  be  disposed 
of  as  follows :  first,  to  pay  the  guild's  debts ;  secondly, 
to  compensate  those  members  whose  exclusive  industrial 
privileges  were  abolished;  and,  finally,  if  there  was  any 
money  left,  to  aid  the  community  in  establishing  works 
of  public  benefit,  or  to  meet  the  claims  of  creditors  of 
insolvent  dissolved  guilds.  Several  guilds  uniting  to 
form  one  guild  could,  however,  agree  to  transfer  their 
funds  to  the  new  organization,  ^** 

«/&«?.,  §§  92-93,  186. 

«Cf.  p.   14,  note  47. 

80  Oewerbeordnv/ng,  §§  94-100. 


32 


INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 


The  new  guilds  for  the  formation  of  which  the  Indus- 
trial Law  provided  were  of  two  kinds,  viz.,  those  requir- 
ing a  test  of  proficiency  as  a  condition  of  admission, 
and  those  not  requiring  one.  Guilds  of  the  first  type 
could  be  formed  in  the  larger  cities  °^  by  twenty-four 
persons  who  had  been  independently  engaged  for  one 
year  in  similar  or  identical  trades,  or  who  had  belonged 
to  a  dissolved  guild.  In  all  other  places,  twelve  persons, 
thus  qualified,  were  sufficient.  This  number  could  be 
increased  or  decreased  by  the  ministry.  Furthermore, 
craftsmen  of  several  communities  could  form  a  guild. 
Bankrupts,  persons  charged  with  or  convicted  of  crime, 
and  those  whose  right  to  engage  in  a  trade  was  tem- 
porarily suspended,  were  wholly  disqualified  from  par- 
ticipating in  the  formation  of  a  guild.  Nowhere  could 
new  guilds  be  formed  where  old  guilds  existed,  unless 
the  old  were  dissolved  or  amalgamated  with  the  new. 
New  guilds,  moreover,  were  granted  the  status  of  cor- 
porations. They  could  not  acquire  exclusive  industrial 
privileges.  '^^ 

The  purpose  of  the  new  guilds  which  required  a  test 
of  proficiency  was  threefold:  first,  to  control  the  train- 
ing and  conduct  of  apprentices,  journeymen,  and  assist- 
ants ;  '^  secondly,  to  administer  the  funds,  such  as  sav- 
ings, poor,  sick,  and  death  funds;  thirdly,  to  care  for 
widows  and  orphans  of  deceased  members.  Admission 
to  these  guilds  was  granted  only  after  a  satisfactory 
proof  of  ability.  Certificates  of  the  examination  boards 
of  certain  trades,  of  the  Superior  Building  Commission 

'*  Berlin,  Breslau,  Koenigsberg,  Danzig,  Elbing,  Posen,  Potsdam,  Frank- 
furt, Stettin,  Stralsund,  Magdeburg,  Halberstadt,  Halle,  Erfurt,  Muenster, 
Koeln,  Duesseldorf,  Elberfeld,  Barmen,  Krefeld,  Aachen,  Koblenz  und  Trier. 

**  Oewerbeordnunff,  §§   101-103. 

'^  "Der  Unterschied  zwischen  Gesellen  und  Gehuelfen  koennte  darin 
gefunden  werden  dass  bei  den  Gesellen  stets  eine  technische  Vorbildung 
(Lehre)  vorausgesetzt  wird,  bei  den  Gehuelfen  nicht.  (Meyer,  Konveraa- 
tions-Leonkon,  vii,  210). 


INDUSTRIAL  LAW  OF  1845  33 

of  the  Technological  Institute,  and  of  the  Academy  of 
Arts  were  accepted  as  sufficient  evidence  of  ability. 
Members  of  old  guilds  and  craftsmen  who  had  suc- 
cessfully carried  on  a  trade  either  at  the  place  where 
the  guild  was  formed,  or  elsewhere,  were  not  required 
to  give  additional  proof  of  their  proficiency.  In  all  other 
cases,  candidates  for  admission  had  to  pass  the  examina- 
tion of  the  board  created  by  the  Industrial  Law.  ^* 

Membership  in  one  of  these  guilds  did  not  deprive  a 
craftsman  of  the  right  simultaneously  to  engage  in  a 
trade  other  than  that  represented  by  the  guild,  or  even 
to  join  other  guilds.  But  to  join  a  guild  of  another 
town  was  permissible  only  if  a  craftman's  trade  was 
not  represented  by  a  guild  in  the  town  in  which  he  lived."^ 

Every  new  guild  requiring  a  test  of  proficiency,  had 
to  have  one  or  more  officials  elected  by  the  members  and 
approved  by  the  local  authorities.  The  law  provided  that 
a  representative  of  the  municipality  should  attend  every 
meeting  to  watch  over  the  legality  of  the  resolutions; 
and  that  he  should  not  be  engaged  in  the  kind  of  trade 
for  which  the  guild  was  formed.  Initiation  fees  and 
dues  might  be  collected.  The  privilege  of  voting  was 
restricted  to  those  members  who  had  been  independently 
engaged  in  a  trade  during  the  past  year.  This  rule, 
however,  could  be  amended  so  as  to  make  the  right 
to  vote  dependent  upon  a  specific  volume  of  business.  If 
desirable,  plural  voting  could  be  introduced.  The  ab- 
sence of  Zunftzwang  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  neither 
the  resignation  of  a  member  nor  his  expulsion  deprived 
him  of  the  right  to  continue  his  trade.  ®*  In  order  to 
achieve  uniformity  of  organization  of  the  old  guilds  and 
of  the  new  ones  that  required  a  test  of  proficiency  for 
«cf.  p.  39. 

'^  Oewerhecrdn'wng,  §§  104-111. 
"/bid.,  §§  110,  112-117. 


34 


INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 


admission,  the  government  issued  a  model  guild  con- 
stitution. This  was  designed  to  aid  the  provincial  gov- 
ernments in  administering  the  Industrial  Law.  " 

The  second  type  of  new  guilds  consisted  of  those 
which  did  not  require  a  test  of  proficiency  for  admis- 
sion. Such  guilds  were  formed  by  the  union  of  all 
craftsmen  of  a  community  engaged  in  similar  or  identical 
trades.  A  resolution  of  the  municipal  authorities  was 
indispensable  for  their  formation.  By  merely  establish- 
ing a  trade,  a  person  qualified  for  membership.  But  no 
one  was  obliged  to  join  these  guilds.  Resignation  was 
permissible.  Members  not  in  possession  of  a  certificate 
of  proficiency,  and  those  who  had  failed  in  business, 
had  been  convicted  of  crime,  or  had  conducted  them- 
selves improperly,  were  excluded  from  voting  and  from 
participating  in  the  administration.  ®* 

The  following  rules  applied  to  all  guilds.  Changes 
in  the  constitution  and  by-laws  might  be  made  only  by 
permission  of  the  ministry.  Rules  regarding  the  disso- 
lution of  old  guilds  were  applicable  to  the  new.  Dis- 
putes concerning  admission  and  expulsion  of  members, 
and  questions  involving  rights  and  duties  of  officers 
as  well  as  members  must  be  settled  by  the  local  authori- 
ties. The  right  of  appeal  to  the  government  could  not 
be  denied.  What  has  been  said  of  guilds  does  not  apply 
to  co-operative  industrial  associations.  The  latter  belong 
to  a  different  category.  "* 

The  right  to  engage  in  a  fixed  trade  permitted  a  per- 
son to  employ  journeymen,  assistants,  and  apprentices. 
Bankruptcy,  maltreatment  of  apprentices,  charge  or  con- 
viction of  crime,  and  temporary  suspension  of  the  right 
to  carry  on  a  trade  disqualified  a  craftsman  from  "accept- 

'"Min.-Bl.  1848,  102-115   (Order  of  Feb.  4). 
^  Qewerbeordnung,   §§    118-119. 
w/bid.,  §§  120-124. 


INDUSTRIAL  LAW  OF  1845  35 

ing"  apprentices.  For  a  number  of  trades  the  right 
to  "accept"  depended  upon  joining  an  old  or  a  new 
gfuild  and  proving  one's  proficiency.  ^^  The  number  of 
these  trades  could  be  increased  or  diminished  by  the 
provincial  governments  according  to  the  necessities  of 
the  locality.  Craftsmen  not  permitted  to  employ  appren- 
tices, according  to  these  regulations,  could  neither  "ac- 
cept" new  ones,  nor  retain  those  they  already  employed.  '^ 
The  relation  of  journeymen,  assistants,  and  apprentices 
to  craftsmen  employing  them  was  based  on  an  agree- 
ment between  the  parties  concerned.  In  the  absence  of 
an  agreement,  the  relationship  was  determined  by  the 
rules  of  the  guild  to  which  the  craftsman  belonged.  If 
the  craftsman  was  not  a  member  of  a  guild,  the  pro- 
visions of  the  Industrial  Law,  as  outlined  below,  deter- 
mined the  relationship.  The  local  government  was 
obliged  to  protect  the  health  and  morals  of  a  craftsman's 
employees.  If  the  secular  and  religious  education  of 
these  employees  was  inadequate,  opportunity  had  to  be 
given  them  to  perfect  themselves  in  the  studies  in  which 
they  were  deficient.  Difficulties  arising  between  a  crafts- 
man and  his  employees  were  to  be  settled  by  the  special 
committees  provided  for  the  purpose.  Where  such 
committees  did  not  exist,  this  duty  devolved  upon  the 
president  of  the  guild  to  which  the  craftsman  belonged. 
The  president,  however,  could  exercise  this  power  only 
in  the  presence  of  the  representative  of  the  local  admin- 

*>  The  trades  in  question  are : 

Gerber  aller  Art,  Lederbereiter,  Ledertauer,  Korduaner,  Perga- 
menter,  Schuhmacher,  Handschuhmacher,  Beutler,  Knerschner,  Biemer, 
Battler,  Seller,  Reifschlaeger,  Schneider,  Hntmacher,  Tischler,  Rademacher, 
Stellmacher,  Boettcher,  Drechsler  in  Holz  und  Horn,  Toepfer,  Grob- 
schmiede,  Hufschmiede,  Waffensehmiede,  Schlosser,  Zirkelschmiede,  Zeug- 
Bchmiedc,  Bohrschmiede,  Saegeschmiede,  Messerschmiede,  Buechsenschmiede, 
Sporer,  Feilenhauer,  Kupferschmiede,  Kothgiesser,  Gelbgiesser,  Glocken- 
giesser,  Guertler,  Zinngiesser,  Klenipner,  Buchbinder,  Faerber."  (Gewer- 
heordnung,  §  131). 

According  to  a  ministerial  annonncement  of  1847,  "Tapezierer"  were 
not  to  be  included  in  this  group.      (Min.-Bl.  1847,  24-25). 

^  Oewerbeordnung,  §§  125-133. 


36  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

istrative  board.  Cases  involving  craftsmen  who  were  not 
members  of  a  guild,  were  settled  by  the  local  police  de- 
partment. "^ 

Journejmien  and  assistants,  although  obliged  to  observe 
the  rules  and  customs  of  the  craftsman's  home,  could  not 
be  forced  to  perform  the  duties  of  servants.  Their  rela- 
tions with  their  master  could  be  severed  by  giving  notice 
two  weeks  in  advance.  But  if  they  were  guilty  of  theft, 
disobedience,  careless  use  of  fire,  or  calumniation  of 
their  employer,  or  if  they  became  unfit,  they  could  be 
dismissed  without  notice.  On  the  other  hand,  they  might 
leave  without  giving  notice,  if  they  became  unfit  for 
service,  if  their  master  violently  laid  hands  on  them  or 
tempted  them  to  perform  illegal  or  immoral  acts,  or  if 
he  withheld  their  wages.  On  leaving,  journeymen  and 
assistants  could  demand  a  certificate  indicating  the  nature 
and  period  of  their  employment.  This  certificate,  to  be 
vaHd,  had  to  be  confirmed  by  the  local  authorities. 

There  was  no  compulsory  migration  {W and ersc haft). 
Migrating  journeymen  and  assistants  could,  therefore, 
not  claim  assistance  of  craftsmen.  After  revolutionary 
disturbances  had  broken  out  in  Germany  in  1848,  the 
Diet  of  the  Confederation  annulled  its  decree  of  1835 
whereby  the  right  of  journeymen  to  wander  from  one 
place  to  another  was  curtailed.  It  was  in  harmony  with 
this  action  that  Prussia  rescinded  ^^  her  order  requiring 
the  consent  of  the  ministry  for  the  issuing  of  passports 
to  travellers  going  to  countries  beyond  the  confines  of 
the  Confederation,  and  forbidding  foreign  journeymen 
that  had  sojourned  in  Switzerland  to  come  to  Prussia. 
The  order  forbidding  Prussian  journeymen  to  go  to  Swit- 
zerland was  also  withdrawn.    The  authorities  in  charge 

«»7fetd.,   §§  134-137. 
«June  30,  1848. 


INDUSTRIAI,  LAW  OF  1845  37 

of  passports  were  instructed  to  issue  them  for  any  state 
to  which  the  appHcant  desired  to  go,  and  to  insert  in  all 
passports  already  issued  a  statement  regarding  the  aboli- 
tion of  restrictions.  ®* 

Journeymen  and  assistants  were  permitted  to  retain 
their  old  and  to  form  new  benefit  associations.  The  fact 
that  an  assistant  or  a  journeyman  did  not  work  for  a 
member  of  a  guild  did  not  debar  him  from  joining  such 
an  organization. 

All  that  has  been  said  about  journeymen  and  assist- 
ants applies  to  factory  employees  as  well.  None  of  these 
three  groups  of  employees  was  permitted  to  form  unions 
without  the  permission  of  the  police.  Nor  could  any 
one  of  them  arbitrarily  leave  his  work  or  be  grossly 
disobedient  or  persistently  intractable  without  incurring 
fine  or  imprisonment.  ®° 

According  to  the  Industrial  Law,  only  those  persons 
were  to  be  regarded  as  apprentices  who  worked  under 
An  accredited  craftsman  for  the  purpose  of  becoming 
journeymen.  The  craftsman  might  agree  to  teach  them 
his  craft  for  a  specified  sum  of  money  or  in  considera- 
tion of  gratuitous  assistance.  Formal  "acceptance"  took 
place  in  the  presence  of  the  guild,  if  the  apprentice 
entered  the  employment  of  a  guild  member;  otherwise, 
before  the  local  authorities.  The  ability  to  read  and 
write  and  a  fair  amount  of  religious  knowledge  were 
indispensable.  Deficiency  in  any  one  of  these  had  to  be 
remedied  during  the  period  of  technical  instruction.  It 
was  the  duty  of  the  craftsman  properly  to  instruct  his 
apprentice  in  the  rudiments  of  his  craft  and  to  supervise 
his   morals.   ^  On   the  other   hand,   the   apprentice   was 

«afwi.-BJ.   1848,   224-225. 

"  Gewerheordnung,  §§  138-145,  183-184.  It  should  be  noted  that  Meiater 
does  not  occur  in  the  Industrial  Law.  Selbstaendiger  Oewerbetreibender  is 
substituted  for  it. 


38  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

subject  to  the  parental  discipline  of  his  master  {Lehr- 
herr).  In  his  absence,  the  apprentice  was  obliged  to  obey 
the  journeyman  or  the  assistant  acting  as  his  substitute. 
Apprentices  could  form  unions  only  by  permission  of 
the  police. 

The  rules  governing  the  dismissal  and  withdrawal  of 
journeymen  and  assistants  applied  also  to  apprentices. 
If  the  apprentice  desired  to  transfer  to  another  trade 
before  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  instruction,  he  could 
do  so.  He  had,  however,  unless  otherwise  specified, 
to  pay  tuition  for  one-half  year  after  the  close  of  the 
quarter  in  which  he  left.  If  the  agreement  was  dis- 
solved, the  apprentice  could  demand  a  certificate  show- 
ing the  nature  of  his  conduct,  time  of  service,  and  amount 
of  knowledge  acquired.  Upon  completing  his  course  of 
training,  he  might  demand  a  journeyman's  examination 
and  formal  dismissal.  These  took  place  before  the  guild 
or  the  local  authorities,  depending  on  whether  he  was 
trained  by  a  member  of  a  guild  or  by  a  non-guild  crafts- 
man. In  the  latter  case,  the  local  examining  board,  a 
guild  institution,  could  be  called  upon  to  examine  the 
applicant.  Moreover,  the  apprentice  that  learned  his 
trade  under  a  non-guild  member  might  request  an  exam- 
ination by  this  board,  and,  if  successful,  a  certificate 
of  proficiency.  The  only  charges  permissible  in  formally 
accepting  and  dismissing  an  apprentice  were  those  cover- 
ing the  actual  cost  of  the  procedure.  Persons  who  were 
not  to  be  considered  apprentices  because  of  the  nature 
of  their  agreement,  and  those  who  learned  their  trade 
in  a  manner  other  than  under  an  independent  craftsman 
might  be  examined  by  a  guild  or  by  the  local  authorities, 
according  to  the  status  of  the  person  who  taught  them. 
In  either  case,  they  received  a  certificate  upon  passing 
the  examination.     What  has  been  said  of  assistants  and 


INDUSTRIAL  LAW  OF  1845  39 

apprentices  of  ordinary  craftsmen  did  not  apply  to  those 
of  apothecaries  or  merchants,  or  to  foremen  in  factories. 
Their  relations  to  their  employers  were  determined  by 
the  regulations  previously  in  force.  '* 

In  order  to  conduct  the  examinations  provided  for  by 
the  Industrial  Law,  local  and  district  boards  were  insti- 
tuted. These  were  composed  of  the  representative  crafts- 
men of  a  town  or  a  district.  They  were  appointed  by 
the  local  authorities,  preference  being  given  to  members 
of  guilds.  A  member  of  the  local  government  who  was 
not  a  craftsman,  acted  as  presiding  officer.  The  board 
was  put  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  local  authorities.  "^ 

For  the  purpose  of  settling  differences  of  opinion  re- 
garding these  boards,  the  government  issued  supple- 
mentary information.  According  to  this,  it  was  the 
duty  of  the  board  to  examine  craftsmen  desiring  to 
join  either  an  old  guild  or  a  new  one  that  required  a 
test  of  proficiency.  This  applied  also  to  craftsmen  who 
qualified  to  "accept"  apprentices.  Old  guilds  were  per- 
mitted to  retain  their  rules  regarding  masterpieces,  pend- 
ing the  revision  of  their  constitution  and  by-laws.  The 
examination  fee  for  those  who  learned  their  trade  under 
a  non-guild  craftsman  was  three  Thaler;  for  all  others, 
five  Thaler.  ^^ 

The  examination  was  conducted  under  the  direction  of 
the  president  by  a  committee  of  from  two  to  six  crafts- 
men, only  one-half  of  whom  were  to  be  members  of 
the  board.  This  committee  was  at  first  appointed  by 
the  board;  later,  by  the  president.  In  appointing  the 
committee,  preference  was  given  to  members  of  guilds. 

*^  nid.,  §§  146-161,  183.  For  an  account  of  factory  legislation  see 
Geschichte  der  preussischen  Fabrikgesetzgebung  bis  zu  ihrer  Aufjiahme 
durch  die  Reichsgewerbeordnivni)  by  Gwenther  K.  Anton.  Leipzic,  1891,  in 
Schmoller's  St.  u.  sw.  Fgn.,  XI.    Heft.  2.     Covers  period  1818-69. 

"^  Gewerbeordnung ,  §  162. 

<^Min.-Bl.  1847,  160-162,  166,  167.  (Order  of  Dec.  31).  1  Thaler  z=. 
approximately  75  cents. 


40  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

Requests  for  examination  could  not  be  postponed  longer 
than  three  months  after  payment  of  the  fee. 

The  examination  consisted  of  an  oral  test  and  a  prac- 
tical demonstration  of  skill.  The  oral  examination 
tested  the  applicant's  knowledge  of  materials,  technical 
terms,  police  regulations,  and  construction  and  use  of 
tools  and  workshop.  The  candidate,  moreover,  had  to 
compute  the  cost  of  an  article  in  the  presence  of  the 
committee,  and  had  to  make  any  drawings  that  might  be 
required  in  the  pursuit  of  the  craft. '®  The  practical 
demonstration  of  skill  tested  his  ability  to  make  an 
article.  The  expense  of  providing  materials,  tools,  and 
workshop,  was  borne  by  the  applicant.  If  he  lived  in 
the  town  in  which  the  board  lived,  his  examination  was 
supervised  by  two  members  of  the  committee,  who  vis- 
ited the  workshop  from  time  to  time  to  see  that  he  re- 
ceived no  aid.  If  he  lived  elsewhere,  arrangements  had 
to  be  made  for  him  either  to  come  to  the  place  where 
the  board  resided  or  to  take  the  examination  in  the 
town  in  which  he  lived.  After  the  applicant  finished  his 
work,  the  committee  met  to  examine  it.  A  majority  vote 
determined  the  opinion  of  the  committee.  ^°  The  candi- 
date that  passed  the  examination  received  a  certificate 
of  proficiency.  This  certificate  admitted  him  to  guilds 
and  permitted  him  to  "accept"  apprentices.  A  repetition 
of  the  examination  could  not  be  required  of  him  even 
after  he  had  changed  his  domicile.  The  candidate  that 
failed  could  not  be  re-examined  within  six  months.  '^^ 

In  order  to  make  the  Industrial  Law  as  flexible  as  pos- 
sible, local  governments  were  permitted  to  make  minor 
changes  with  the  approval  of  the  ministry.  No  changes 
were  permitted,  however,  that  curtailed  the  liberty  to 

"  Gewerheordnunff,  §  163;  Min.-Bl.  1847,  163    (§§  8-10). 
"^Gewerbeordnung,  §  164-165;  Min.-Bl.  1847,  164-165   (|§  12-14). 
'^  Oewerheordnung,  §  166;  Min.-Bl.  1847,  165. 


INDUSTRIAL  LAW  OF  1845  4I 

engage  in  a  trade,  that  introduced  Zunftzwang,  or  that 
limited  the  membership  of  guilds.  '^^ 

The  evolution  of  industrial  freedom  in  Prussia  between 
1845  and  1849  is  marked  by  the  extension  of  the  indus- 
trial legislation  of  Stein  and  Hardenberg  to  all  the  prov- 
inces and  the  introduction  of  additional  liberal  features. 
The  chief  old  privileges  now  granted  to  the  whole  mon- 
archy were:  the  restriction  of  trade  licenses  to  itinerant 
trades;  the  abolition  of  Zunftzwang;  the  nullification  of 
price  and  wage  regulations;  the  contractual  relationship 
between  a  craftsman  and  his  journeymen,  assistants,  and 
apprentices ;  the  simultaneous  pursuit  of  several  trades ; 
and  the  recognition  of  the  fact  that  the  system  of  the 
"store"  {Magazin)  had  come  to  stay.  Trade  unions 
were  still  illegal,  and  the  test  of  proficiency  for  certain 
trades  was  retained. 

Among  the  new  features  introduced  were:  (i)  the 
principle  of  reciprocity  regarding  foreign  trades;  (2) 
the  admission  of  women  and  Jews  to  practically  all 
trades;  (3)  the  virtual  relaxation  of  the  burghership 
requirement ;  (4)  the  remodeling  of  old  and  the  organiza- 
tion of  new  guilds  in  harmony  with  the  new  spirit  in 
industry;  (5)  the  abolition  of  compulsory  Wanderschaft; 
(6)  the  unrestricted  issuance  of  passports;  (7)  the 
formation  of  local  and  district  examining  boards;  (8) 
the  tendency  to  extend  the  district  trade  licenses  to  all 
the  provinces;  and  (9)  the  aboUtion  of  exclusive  and 
coercive  trade  rights  and  privileges. 

^Qewerheordmung,  {§  168-170. 


CHAPTER   II 
Discontent  Among  the  Working  Ci<asses 

THE  Industrial  Law  and  the  ministerial  orders 
have  indicated  the  degree  of  industrial  liberal- 
ism legalized  in  all  the  provinces  of  Prussia 
between  1845  ^^^  1849.  ^^^  ^^^  ^^  power  appear  to 
have  realized  the  demands  made  by  the  new  social  and 
economic  order.  The  laws  they  promulgated  were,  per- 
haps, as  liberal  as  could  be  expected,  short  of  revolu- 
tion. Under  normal  conditions  these  laws  might  have 
provided  an  orderly  transition  from  a  system  of  guild 
economy  to  one  of  factory  economy.  But  the  period 
from  1845  to  1849  was  not  normal.  The  condition  of 
agriculture  and  the  social  dissatisfaction  culminating  in 
the  disturbances  of  1848  put  the  times  out  of  joint.  Un- 
der such  circumstances  it  was  impossible  for  the  new  law 
to  effect  an  orderly  change. 

The  weather  conditions  during  the  period  under  dis- 
cussion were  by  no  means  conducive  to  the  normal 
progress  of  social  and  economic  life.  Unseasonable  vari- 
ations in  temperature  and  heavy  rains  caused  the  rivers 
to  overflow  repeatedly.  The  destruction  of  crops,  espe- 
cially in  the  central  and  eastern  parts  of  the  kingdom, 
created  such  hardship  among  the  people  that  the  govern- 
ment and  private  individuals  had  to  come  to  their  assist- 
ance. In  many  instances,  cattle,  forced  to  take  refuge 
on  the  hills,  were  isolated  and  without  fodder.  Whole 
villages  were  partially  submerged,  so  that  foodstuffs 
could  be  taken  to  the  inhabitants  only  with  great  diffi- 
culty. ^ 

^Archiv  fuer  vaterlaend.  Intereasen,  1845,  160-163.  AUg.  Ztg.  (A.) 
1845,  Apr.  14,  et  passim;   1847,  June  27,  et  passim. 


I 

1 

V4 

^ 

5 

^ 

1 

^ 

!5 

5 

!$ 

/cs-y/yors- 


Average  market  price  per  Scheffel  in 
Silbergroschen  in  Prussia.  Based  on 
"Mittheilungen  des  statisclien  Bureaus 
in   Berlin,    1855." 

• wheat barley 

rye        oats 

Potatoes 

1  Silbergroschen  =  $  .0235 
1  Scheffel  =  1.55  bushels 


INDUSTRIAL   DISCONTENT  43 

The  damage  done  to  crops  by  unfavorable  climatic 
conditions  and  floods  was  increased  by  the  potato  blight. 
This  disease  appeared  in  August,  1845,  and  continued 
throughout  the  period.  Newspaper  reports  indicate  that 
it  was  most  destructive  in  Silesia  and  the  Province  of 
Prussia.  ^  By  destroying  the  chief  article  of  food  of 
the  lower  classes,  it  put  the  lives  of  many  in  jeopardy. 
The  recurrence  of  the  blight  induced  ingenious  spirits 
to  seek  for  antidotes.  After  discovering  what  purported 
to  be  such,  they  took  the  public  into  their  confidence. 
One  man,  seemingly  of  unusual  ability,  agreed  to  divulge 
the  secret  of  his  discovery  to  any  person  sending  him 
5  Thaler  ($3.75)  before  March  15,  1848.  It  was  under- 
stood, however,  that  if  the  number  of  subscribers  was 
not  sufficient  to  warrant  the  disclosure,  the  money  would 
be  refunded.  ^  Grain  also  suffered  from  the  unfavorable 
weather  conditions  prevailing  between  1845  ^"^  1849. 
Harvests  were  almost  uniformly  poor.  The  only  year 
that  could  boast  of  a  moderately  fair  grain  crop  was 

1847. ' 

High  prices  are  an  almost  unavoidable  concomitant 
of  poor  harvests.  To  what  extent  the  high  prices  in 
Prussia  were  due  to  the  failure  of  crops  and  how  far 
to  speculation  in  foodstuffs  is  difficult  to  ascertain.  The 
fact  is,  that  the  price  of  food  was  high.  This  is  shown 
by  the  monthly  reports  of  the  Berlin  market.  In  the 
period  from  1845  ^^d  1847,  the  average  price  of  rye  in- 
creased 250  per  cent ;  of  wheat  and  barley,  200  per  cent ; 
of    peas    and    oats,  150  per  cent;  of  potatoes,  100  per 

•The  Provinces  of  East  and  West  Pmssia  were  united  from  1824  to 
1878,  and  called  the  Province  of  Prussia. 

'Schles.  Ztg.,  1848,  Jan.  5  (2te  Beilage).  Bnelow-Cnnunerow  states 
that  potatoes  formed  four-fifths  of  the  food  of  the  lower  classes.  {Preussen 
i.  J.  1847,  u.  d.  Patent  v  3,  Feb.  27). 

*  Dieterici,  Mittheilgen  d.  statist.  Bureaus,  8ter  Jahrg.,  187.  Weser  Ztg., 
1847,  July  22  et  passim.  AUg.  Ztg.  (A.),  1845,  April  17,  et  passim.  Die- 
terici was  director  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  in  Berlin. 


44  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

cent.  Dieterici  states  that,  for  the  period  from  1816 
to  1854,  the  price  of  rye,  barley,  and  potatoes  reached 
its  maximum  in  1847.  " 

The  reaction  of  the  people  to  these  prices  found  ex- 
pression in  assaults  upon  markets  and  individual  bakers 
in  all  parts  of  the  monarchy.  In  several  towns  in  eastern 
Silesia,  wagons  carrying  grain  and  bread  to  the  local 
market  were  seized.  The  owners  were  forced  to  sell 
the  contents  at  a  price  fixed  by  the  mob.  Refusal  re- 
sulted in  confiscation.  Similar  occurrences  were  reported 
from  Posen  and  the  Province  of  Prussia,  from  the 
Rhine  and  the  middle  provinces.  In  Halle,  the  munici- 
pal authorities  fixed  the  price  of  bread  to  protect  the 
public  against  unscrupulous  bakers,  * 

The  greatest  disturbances  appear  to  have  occurred 
in  Berlin.  On  April  21,  1847,  a  woman  selling  potatoes 
near  the  Gendarmenmarkt  insulted  a  number  of  pur^ 
chasers  for  objecting  to  high  prices.  Upon  being  mal- 
treated by  them,  she  sought  refuge  in  a  baker's  shop. 
The  attempt  of  the  baker  to  protect  her  infuriated  the 
crowd.  They  plundered  his  shop  and  moved  on  to 
others.  For  two  days,  rioting  continued.  It  subsided 
when  the  local  authorities  found  ways  and  means  to 
force  down  the  price  of  potatoes.  ^ 

The  province  which  seems  most  to  have  felt  the  evils 
of  poor  harvests  and  high  prices,  was  Silesia.  In  the 
southern  part,  the  suffering  was  intense.  Food,  especial- 
ly potatoes,  was  so  scarce  that  the  working  classes  had 
to  resort  to  bran  and  grass.  Hunger-typhus  soon  devel- 
oped, sparing  neither  rich  nor  poor.  The  newspapers 
reported  that  the  famished  were  dying  on  the  streets. 

^ Amts-Blatt  1845-47  (Potsdam  nnd  Berlin).  Dieterici,  Mittheilgen  d. 
Statist.     Bureaus  in  Berlin,   8  Jahrg.,   179-180. 

'AUff.  Ztg.   (A.),  1847,  May  11  et  passim.     Weser  Ztg.,  1847,  Aug.  24. 

''Aug.  Ztg.  (A.),  1847,  Apr.  26.  Varnhagen  v.  Ense,  legebuecher,  IV, 
71.     Meyer,  D.,  Das  oeffentl.    Leben  in  Berlin,  86  ff. 


INDUSTRIAL   DISCONTENT  45 

The  report  of  the  Gk)vernor  of  Silesia  to  the  Minister 
of  the  Interior,  making  conditions  appear  more  favorable 
than  they  were,  is  obviously  biased.  His  attempt  to 
shift  responsibility  to  the  laboring  classes  by  charging 
them  with  carelessness  and  indolence  is  as  despicable 
as  it  is  evident.  ^  Work  in  Silesia  was  as  scarce  as  food. 
The  wage  per  day  for  a  man  was  from  six  to  seven 
cents,  for  a  woman  from  two  and  one-half  to  three  and 
one-half  cents.  Obviously,  neither  man  nor  woman, 
weakened  by  the  famine,  could  hope  to  earn  sufficient 
money  to  buy  food  at  the  abnormal  prices.  The  inhab- 
itants of  Posen  and  East  Prussia  also  suffered  from 
hunger-typhus,  though  not  to  the  same  degree.  From 
1846  to  1848  inclusive,  the  number  of  deaths  in  these 
provinces  and  in  Silesia  exceeded  the  number  of  births. 
In  the  following  year,  the  situation  was  reversed.  ^  Not 
even  Berlin  was  spared  the  hardship  and  discontent  of 
poverty.  But  Berlin  was  granted  the  privilege  of  for- 
getting them  for  a  brief  moment,  through  the  enchant- 
ing art  of  Jenny  Lind.  The  poor,  who  could  not  hear 
her,  benefited  by  the  concerts  she  gave  for  charitable 
purposes.  ^° 

The  state  as  well  as  private  individuals  came  to  the 
assistance  of  the  distressed.  The  former,  between  1845 
and  1847,  appropriated  over  two  million  dollars  for  their 
relief ;  the  latter  knitted,  gave  concerts,  and  formed  asso- 
ciations to  aid  them.  Newspapers  called  for  subscrip- 
tions to  charity-funds.  The  "Committee  for  the  Alle- 
viation of  Poverty  in  Upper  Silesia"  announced,  under 
date  of  February  28,  1848,  receipts  amounting  to  almost 

'The  only  copy  of  tliis  report  accessible  -was  found  in  AUg.  Ztg.  (A.), 
1848,  Feb.   28. 

"  TabeUen  u.  amtl.  Nachrichten  ueber  d.  preuss.  Stoat  f.  d.  J.  1849, 
I,  288-290. 

^Allg.  Ztg.  (A.),  1845,  Mar.  14  et  passim;  1847,  July  28  et  passim; 
1848,  Feb.  6  et  passim.  Weaer  Ztg.,  1847,  July  14.  Schlea.  Ztg.,  1848, 
Jan.  27  et  passim. 


46  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM   IN  PRUSSIA 

seventy-five  thousand  dollars.  In  Cologne,  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  appointed  a  committee  to  collect  funds  for 
the  poor.  ^^ 

Not  only  the  distressing  agricultural  situation,  but  also 
the  discontent  of  the  laboring  classes,  made  it  impossible 
for  the  Industrial  Law  of  1845  to  effect  an  orderly 
transition  from  the  guild  to  the  factory  system.  The 
Industrial  Law  was  promulgated  at  a  time  when  there 
were  unmistakable  indications  that  a  new  industrial  sys- 
tem and  a  new  industrial  class  had  come  to  stay.  Thus 
the  existence  of  the  "Maritime  Trading  Company,"  a 
corporation  engaging  in  commerce  and  manufacture, 
showed  that  there  was  no  such  line  of  demarkation  be- 
tween merchant  and  manufacturer  or  craftsman  as  the 
existence  of  craft  and  merchant  guilds  implied,  while 
the  rapid  rise  to  prominence  of  men  like  Borsig^^  and 
Egells,  the  great  iron  magnates  of  Berlin,  proved  that 
production  on  a  large  scale  was  highly  profitable.  The 
formation  of  industrial  organizations  outside  the  pale 
of  the  guilds  indicated  that  society  was  beginning  to 
appreciate  the  permanence  of  the  proletariat,  and  that  all 
classes  of  producers  were  realizing  the  necessity  of  indus- 
trial education  as  a  means  of  keeping  abreast  of  the 
times.  A  further  indication  of  the  new  era  was  the, 
changing  appearance  of  cities  favorably  located  for  in- 
dustrial purposes.  Thus,  in  Berlin,  the  sections  to  the 
north  were  rapidly  becoming  the  centre  of  the  local  iron 
industry,  while  those  in  the  south  and  east  were  supply- 
ing the  sites  for  textile  factories.  ^' 

^Erster  Ter.  Landtag,  pt.  I,  119,  152-157.  ScMes.  Ztg.,  1848,  Mar.  10. 
AUg.  Ztg.   (A.),  1845,  Mar.  12  et  passim;   1848,  Mar.  1  et  passim. 

^  A.  Borsig  was  bom  in  Breslau  in  1804.  His  father  was  a  carpenter. 
In  1848,  Borsig  employed  1200  men  in  his  fonndry  and  machine  shop. 
Wages  varied  from  $1.00  to  $2.25  per  day,  according  to  the  Illustrirte 
Zeitung  (Leipzic).  Another  account  gives  37%  cents  as  the  lowest 
wage  per  day.  The  annual  output  of  locomotives  with  tenders  varied  from 
70-80.     Cf.  p.  48,  note  16. 

^  Bernstein,  Gesch.  d.  Berliner  Arbeiter-Bewegung,  I,  1-2.  Mens, 
Vntemehmgen  d.  Egl.  Seehandlga-Ingtituta,  passim. 


INDUSTRIAL   DISCONTENT  47 

That  the  workingman  was  not  contented  is  evidenced 
by  numerous  petitions  and  disturbances.  In  1846,  the 
railway  laborers  near  Brandenburg  struck  because  their 
wages  were  decreased.  The  next  year,  eight  hundred 
calico-printers  in  Berlin,  declaring  that  the  introduction 
of  machinery  deprived  them  of  the  means  of  earning 
a  livelihood  and  demanding  that  their  branch  of  industry 
be  placed  under  state  control,  petitioned  the  United  Diet 
to  provide  them  work.  In  the  early  part  of  March,  1848, 
the  citizens  of  Berlin,  fearing  that  poor  food  and  bad 
labor  conditions  would  cause  serious  disturbances  among 
the  workingmen,  petitioned  the  Town  Council  to  appoint 
a  standing  committee  to  look  after  the  welfare  of  the 
laborer.  This  committee  was  to  collect  funds  for  the 
construction  of  public  works.  After  some  debate  as  to 
whether  the  state  or  the  city  should  be  the  first  to  take 
cognizance  of  the  situation,  the  council  referred  the 
whole  question  to  an  advisory  committee  for  immediate 
consideration. 

Shortly  after  the  distress  of  the  lower  classes  had 
thus  been  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Town  Council, 
the  workingmen  of  Berlin  held  a  large  meeting  in  the 
Thiergarten.  Speeches  were  made  and  circulars  distrib- 
uted. The  circulars  contained  a  petition  to  the  king  for 
the  formation  of  a  ministry  of  labor.  This  ministry, 
according  to  the  petition,  was  to  consist  only  of  em- 
ployers and  employees.  "  While  the  meeting  was  in 
progress,  the  chief  of  police  appeared  on  horseback.  A 
workingman  complained  to  him  that  his  family  was 
suffering  because  he  was  out  of  work.  The  chief  of 
police  promised  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  better  condi- 
tions, and  asked  the  people  to  remain  quiet.    This  called 

'*  A  meeting  of  workingmen  held  at  the  Exercirplatz  on  Mar.  27th,  re- 
solved to  send  the  petition  to  the  king.     The  king  received  it  on  the  29tJi. 


48  INDUSTRIAI.  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

forth  a  Hoch  for  the  chief.  Unfortunately,  the  military 
appeared  in  the  evening.  In  the  confusion  that  followed, 
several  persons  were  wounded.  In  trying  to  determine 
the  cause  of  this  unrest,  the  Berlin  correspondent  of  the 
Weser  Zeitung  reported  that,  upon  making  inquiry 
among  the  working  people,  he  was  told  that  some 
wanted  work,  that  others  objected  to  the  work  assigned 
them  by  the  employment  bureau,  that  a  third  group 
refused  to  pay  the  tax  on  house  rents,  and  that  all 
desired  a  ministry  of  labor.^'^ 

When  the  news  of  the  February  Revolution  in  Paris 
reached  Berlin,  the  pent  up  discontent  sought  expression 
in  general  opposition  to  the  existing  social  order.  Crafts- 
men and  workingmen  assisted  in  the  erection  of  barri- 
cades. Many  of  them  were  killed  in  the  fighting  of 
March  i8th  and  19th.  In  the  funeral  procession  on 
the  22nd,  held  in  honor  of  the  civilians  that  had  fallen 
in  defense  of  the  barricades,  there  were  delegations  from 
the  guilds  of  Berlin,  Potsdam,  and  Magdeburg,  and  from 
the  machine  shops  of  Borsig  and  Egells.  Two  days 
later,  when  the  soldiers  were  buried,  the  workmen  from 
Borsig's  and  from  Egells',  as  an  indication  of  their  con- 
ciliatory spirit,  sent  a  large  delegation  to  attend  the 
funeral.  ^' 

The  March  uprising  in  Berlin  in  1848  was  the  pre- 
cursor of  similar  outbursts  during  the  remainder  of  the 
year.  Many  industries  were  at  a  standstill,  owing  to 
the  refusal  of  employees  to  work,  unless  wages  were 
increased  and  working  conditions  improved.  In  April, 
a  crowd  of  journeymen  and  other  workingmen  surged 

^Allff,  Ztg.  (A.),  1848,  Mar.  13  et  passim.  Weser  Ztg.,  1847,  July  7; 
1848,  Mar.  19  et  passim.  Lasker  u.  Gerhard,  Des  deutschen  Yolkea  Erhe- 
bung.  490.     Adler,   Oesch.  d.   ersten  social-polit.     Arbeiter-Bewegung,  135. 

^0  Weser  Ztg.,  1848,  Mar.  30;  AUg.  Ztg.  (A.),  1848,  Mar.  25  et  passim. 
The  reason  for  this  spirit  of  conciliation  toward  the  soldiers  was  the  fact 
that  the  wage  of  these  workmen  had  been  increased  to  37^^  cents  per  day. 
Cf.  p.  46,  note  12. 


INDUSTRIAL   DISCONTENT  49 

through  the  streets  of  the  capital.  They  threatened  to 
destroy  stores  and  factories,  especially  those  engaged 
in  making  and  selling  cotton  and  woolen  goods,  unless 
employers  promised  not  to  employ  women  and  children. 
Several  leading  manufacturers  granted  their  demands 
before  any  real  damage  could  be  done.  The  grievances 
of  the  calico-printers  were  satisfied  by  an  increase  of 
six  cents  per  day  and  a  shortening  of  the  working  day 
by  two  hours.  Their  protest  against  the  introduction  of 
machinery  went  unheeded.  Several  book-printers'  assist- 
ants quit  their  work  because  they  were  refused  a  wage 
increase  of  33  1-3  per  cent,  and  free  holidays.  Their 
endeavor  to  foment  a  general  strike  failed.  A  similar 
attempt  of  the  assistants  in  August  to  cripple  the  book 
printing  trade  also  proved  futile.  ^^ 

The  increasing  dissatisfaction  among  the  working 
classes  in  Berlin  was  due  chiefly  to  two  causes :  first,  the 
increasing  number  of  unemployed;  secondly,  the  resolu- 
tion of  both  state  and  city  to  reduce  the  wages  of  those 
employed  at  public  expense.  It  was  with  respect  to 
the  first  of  these  causes  that  the  police  department  for- 
bade non-residents  in  quest  of  work  to  settle  in  Berlin, 
and  advised  journeymen  on  the  W and ersc haft  to  avoid 
the  city.  ^^    In  regard  to  the  second  cause,  both  city  and 

"  Weser  Ztg.,  1848,  Mar.  29,  Apr.  9,  May  4,  Aug.  4.  Adler,  Geach  d. 
erateti  social-polit.    Arbeiter-Bewegvmg,  159. 

^*  The  following  report  of  May  15,  1848,  of  the  Curatorium  of  the 
Staedtische   Arbeiter-Nachweisungs-Anstalt  in   Berlin   speaks   for  itself. 

"Im  April  dieses  Jahres  suchten  bei  der  Staedtischen  Arbeiter- 
Nachweisungs-Anstalt  4290  hierorts  angehoerige  Personen  Arbeit  nach. 
A.  Bei  dem  Bureau  fuer  die  maennlichen  Arbeiter  meldeten  sich  3842, 
von  welchen  2829  durch  die  Vermittelung  der  Anstalt  Arbeit  nachgewiesen 
wurde,  und  zwar  erhielten  Beschaeftigung  bei  Privatpersonen  103,  auf  den 
Koeniglichen  Bauplaetzen  768,  von  der  Commune  Berlin  1958.  Von  den 
letzteren  wurden  angestellt  625  bei  der  staedtischen  Strassenreinigung,  285 
bei  den  staedtischen  Chausseearbeiten  hinter  Treptow,  170  bei  denselben 
nach  und  hinter  Rummelsburg,  772  bei  den  staedtischen  Culturarbeiten  auf 
dem  Wedding,  12  bei  den  staedtischen  Bauarbeiten  an  der  Wein-  und  Bar- 
minstrassen-Ecke,  94  wurden  verwendet  als  Huelfsboten  bei  der  Leitung  der 
Urwahlen.  B.  Bei  dem  Bureau  fuer  Personen  meldeten  sich  448,  von  wel- 
chen leider  nur  60  Arbeiterinnen  Beschaeftigung  erhielten,  und  zwar:  23 
2ur  Aufwartung,   1   zum   Waschen,   2   zum   Scheuern   und  Waschen,   5   zu 


so 


INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 


state  found  it  necessary  to  discontinue  the  payment  of 
37^  cents  per  day  to  the  workingmen  employed  on  public 
works.  As  many  of  them  did  very  little  work,  it  was 
decided  to  substitute  piece  work  for  the  daily  wage  sys- 
tem. But  this  change  required  the  dismissal  of  a  num- 
ber of  workmen.  The  consequence  was  that  all  agreed 
to  stop.  Disturbances  in  the  city  began  immediately. 
On  one  occasion,  a  group  of  rioters  surrounded  the 
house  of  von  Patow,  Acting  Minister  of  Commerce  and 
Trade,  and  could  be  persuaded  to  move  on  only  after 
every  member  of  the  delegation,  which  had  forced  its 
way  into  his  presence,  had  been  given  twenty-five  cents 
as  part  payment  of  worlc  soon  to  be  provided. 

The  next  serious  rioting  in  Berlin  occurred  in  Octo- 
ber (1848).  It  was  precipitated  by  the  installation  of 
an  hydraulic  pump  in  the  Koepenik  Field,  just  beyond 
the  city,  where  workmen  were  digging  a  canal.  Fearing 
that  they  might  lose  their  jobs,  they  proceeded  to  destroy 
the  pump.  When  the  citizen-guard  appeared,  laborers, 
working  near  by,  came  to  the  assistance  of  their  fellow- 
workmen.  In  the  encounter  that  followed,  several  men 
were  killed.  Incensed  by  this  conflict,  the  workmen 
marched  to  Berlin,  where  they  engaged  the  military  for 
two  days. 

After  the  declaration  of  martial  law  in  Berlin  in  Nov- 
ember, the  workmen  that  had  participated  in  the  riot  of 
the  previous  month  assured  the  magistracy  that  they 
were  not  unruly  citizens  at  the  mercy  of  demagogues. 
Those  employed  in  the  Koepenik  Field  cheered  General 

feiner  Naeherei,  4  zu  grober  Naeherei,  2  ZTim  Zimmerreinigen,  7  zum 
Kinderwarten,  3  zum  Spuelen,  5  zur  Hansarbeit,  2  zum  Stricken,  1  zum 
Verkauf  von  Backwaaren,  2  zur  Gartenarbeit,  3  zur  Schneiderei.  Seit 
der  Eroeffnung  der  staedtischen  Arbeiter-Nachweisungs-Anstalt  bis  zum 
ersten  dieses  Monats  haben  sich  ueberhaupt  7689  Personen  gemeldet,  von 
vrelchen  6750  maennlich,  930  weiblich  waren.  Arbeit  aber  ist  nachge- 
vriesen  worden:  4626  Personen,  unter  welchen  sich  nur  160  Arbeiterin- 
nen  befanden."  (ZeUungshaUe,  May  23,  1848). — Cf.  also  Amta-Blatt 
1848,    (Potsdam   and   Berlin)    167. 


Annual    average   price   per   Scheffel    of   wheat   in   Silbergroschen, 
1816-1853.      This    chart    was   made    by   Ad.   Soetbeer   in   1854. 


England 
Belgium 


1  Silbergroschen  =  $  .0235 


Hamburg 
1  Scheffel 


France 
Prussia 


1.55  bushels 


INDUSTRIAL  DISCONTENT  5 1 

Wrangel,  the  commander  of  the  miHtary  forces  in  Berlin, 
as  he  rode  by.  As  a  token  of  appreciation,  he  sent  them 
thirty  Thaler  for  their  sick-fund.  The  workmen,  thank- 
ing him  for  the  favor  and  informing  him  that  they  would 
use  the  money  for  the  purchase  of  Christmas  presents 
for  the  families  of  the  men  killed  in  the  October  disturb- 
ances, requested  permission  to  continue  their  work.  Upon 
receiving  this  request,  General  Wrangel  went  to  the  Koe- 
penik  Field  to  assure  them  that  they  would  be  permitted 
to  work  as  long  as  the  weather  remained  favorable.  This 
promise  was  received  with  great  applause  for  Wrangel 
and  with  three  cheers  for  the  king.  With  this  outburst 
of  enthusiasm  for  the  forces  of  reaction,  the  unsuccess- 
ful labor  disturbances  of  1848  in  Berlin  came  to  a  singu- 
lar conclusion.  ^^ 

It  must  not  be  assumed  that  only  the  central  part  of 
Prussia  was  disturbed  in  1848  by  discontented  work- 
men; the  western  and  eastern  provinces  suffered  like- 
wise. The  cessation  of  industry  in  these  provinces 
threw  many  people  out  of  work  and  left  them  without 
the  means  of  subsistence.  In  Cologne,  workmen  marched 
to  the  city  hall  to  ask  for  work  (March  15th).  A 
month  later  the  Rhine  boatmen  demanded  compensation 
for  losses  sustained  through  the  introduction  of  steam 
navigation.  By  shooting  at  steamboats  and  by  terror- 
izing pilots,  they  tried  to  force  the  company  to  return 
to  the  old  forms  of  propulsion.  The  general  discontent 
spread  also  to  the  workmen  removing  the  island  of 
Rheinau  in  the  harbor  of  Cologne.  They  demanded  37^ 
cents  per  day  instead  of  27^.  In  Elberfeld  and  Solingen, 
mobs  of  angry  workmen  destroyed  several  factories.  In 
the  eastern  part  of  the  monarchy,  Breslau  seems  to 
have  been  the  centre  of  disturbances.    Suspicious  activity 

^Allg.  Ztg.   (A.),  1848,  Oct.  20-21,  Dec.  25. 


52  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

among  discontented  craftsmen  resulted  in  the  arrest  of 
a  number  of  them.  On  another  occasion,  a  group  of 
workmen  sent  delegates  to  several  factories  to  persuade 
the  men  to  stop  work.  But  this  attempt  at  a  general 
strike  was  only  partially  successful.  An  attack  upon  the 
arsenal  was  repulsed  by  the  military.  ^° 

To  calculate  the  proportion  of  workmen  that  took 
part  in  the  disturbances  of  1848  or  that  expressed,  by 
less  violent  means,  their  disapproval  of  the  social  and 
economic  order,  is  impossible.  One  can,  however,  classify 
the  workingmen  and  estimate  their  number.  There  were 
three  industrial  classes :  craftsmen  and  artificers  (in- 
cluding journeymen  and  apprentices),  factory  employees, 
and  laborers.  According  to  the  census  of  1846,  the  first 
of  these  classes  comprised  nearly  850,000  men  and  boys, 
of  whom  about  one-half  were  master-craftsmen;  the 
second  about  550,000  men,  women,  and  children;  the 
third  about  900,000  persons.  Thus,  of  the  sixteen  million 
Prussians  in  1846,  2,300,000  belonged  to  the  industrial 
class. ^^ 

Another  sign  of  the  new  economic  order  in  Prussia 
was  the  formation  of  new  kinds  of  industrial  organiza- 
tions. ^^  The  significance  of  the  movement  lay  in  the 
recognition  of  the  inadequacy  of  the  guilds,  the  need  of 
keeping  abreast  of  the  times  by  acquiring  information  as 
to  new  methods  of  production  and  distribution,  and  the 
necessity  of  organizing  for  mutual  protection.  Organiza- 
tions of  the  new  type  were  formed  among  all  classes  of 
society.  Thus,  the  "Society  for  the  Advancement  of 
Industry  in  Prussia,"  with  headquarters  in  Berlin,  had 
on  its  roll  the  names  of  prominent  manufacturers  and 

*^AUg.  Ztg.  (A.),  1848,  Jan.  28,  Feb.  19  et  passim.  Weser  Ztg.,  1848, 
Mar.   21   et  passim. 

a  CentraX-Bl.  1848,  156.  Mittheilg.  d.  CentraJvereim,  1848-49,  155-157. 
Jahrb.  f.  d.  AmU.  Statiatik  d.  Preuss.  Staates,  1867,  238. 

»Cf.  p.  46. 


INDUSTRIAL   DISCONTENT  53 

members  of  the  royal  family.  It  was  primarily  interested 
in  new  inventions  and  new  processes  of  manufacture. 
In  the  "Craftsmen's  Association  of  Berlin,"  it  was  cus- 
tomary for  masterworkmen,  journeymen,  and  apprentices 
of  all  crafts  to  meet  for  education  and  recreation.  By 
1848,  this  organization  is  said  to  have  had  five  thousand 
members.  Similar  organizations  were  formed  in  other 
parts  of  the  kingdom.  The  "Craftsmen's  Association  of 
Gross  Glogau"  (Silesia),  whose  regular  members  were 
restricted  to  mastercraftsmen,  admitted  professional  men 
to  special  membership.  ^* 

The  contractual  relationship  between  master  and  jour- 
neyman, and  the  disappearance  of  the  custom  whereby 
the  master  exercised  a  sort  of  parental  supervision  over 
his  journeyman,  made  the  latter  a  man  without  a  home. 
The  cold,  dark  garret  in  which  he  lived  was  but  an 
inducement  to  spend  the  evening  in  the  public  inn.  This 
situation  gave  rise  to  a  new  problem.  The  Protestant 
and  Catholic  Churches  were  the  first  to  take  steps  to 
solve  it.  It  is  said  that  Protestants  formed  an  organiza- 
tion devoted  to  the  welfare  of  journeymen  and  factory 
workers  in  Elberfeld  as  early  as  the  twenties.  By  1848, 
the  number  of  western  Protestant  societies  was  large 
enough  to  encourage  them  to  hold  a  convention  and  to 
form  the  "Rhenish- Westphalian  Young  Men's  League." 
In  1859,  this  league  had  about  two  thousand  members. 
A  similar  organization,  known  as  the  "East  German 
Young  Men's  League,"  was  established  in  eastern  Prus- 
sia. It  had  about  eleven  hundred  members  in  1859.  The 
first  Catholic  "Journeyman's  Society"  was  founded  in 

">  Terhar.dlffen  d.  Y.  z :  Befoederg.  d.  Gfl.,  1845-49.  Gewerie-  und  Oeael- 
lenvereine  in  Deutschland,  Vnsere  Zeit,  III,  549-551.  Mittheilg.  d.  Central- 
vereins,  1848-49,  168.  lUustr.  Ztg.,  (Leipzic),  1848,  Mar.  18.  AUg.  Ztg. 
(A.),  1845,  Apr.  30.  Ansorge  Collection  of  Pamphlets,  No.  102.  Die 
Handwerker-Arbeiter-  u.  Aehnl.  Vereine  in  Preussen,  Arbeiterfretmd. 
1866,  48  fiP. 


54  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

1846  in  Elberfeld.    Unlike  the  Protestant  societies,  the 
Catholic  did  not  beg^n  to  flourish  until  after  1849.  '* 

The  lamentable  condition  of  the  workingman  ^'  called 
forth  two  types  of  organization.  One  of  them  consisted 
of  societies  formed  by  benevolent  persons  devoted  to 
the  welfare  of  the  proletariat.  The  most  important  or- 
ganization of  this  kind  was  established  in  Berlin,  and 
was  called  the  "Central  Society  for  the  Welfare  of  the 
Working  Classes."  A  general  invitation  to  participate 
in  its  formation  was  issued  October  7,  1844,  by  Borne- 
man,  Patow,  Reden,  Roenne,  and  others.  ^*  The  stimulus 
was  given  by  the  Industrial  Exhibition  of  the  Customs 
Union  held  in  Berlin.  Its  purpose  was  announced  to 
be  the  amelioration  of  the  moral  and  social  condition 
of  the  workingmen.  The  plan  provided  for  the  forma- 
tion of  local  societies  in  all  parts  of  Prussia.  Working- 
men  were  to  be  encouraged  to  become  members.  The 
activity  of  the  local  societies,  according  to  the  plan,  was 
to  be  directed  toward  the  establishment  of  savings  and 
benefit  (sick,  death,  and  pension)  funds,  the  founding 
of  schools  for  the  education  of  children  employed  in 
factories,  the  institution  of  day  nurseries  for  children 
of  employees,  and  the  dissemination  of  useful  informa- 
tion. The  services  of  workingmen  not  members  of  the 
society  were  to  be  enlisted  in  the  administration  of  the 
various  funds.  The  money  for  these  funds  was  to  be 
obtained  by  dues  and  subscriptions  from  private  indi- 
viduals and  from  municipalities.     If  the    money    thus 

**  Oewerb-  «.  Gesellenvereine  in  Deutsehland,  Tlnsere  Zeit,  III,  558-561. 
MiUheilg.  d.  CentrcUvereins,  1848-49,  209. 

*The  difference  between  a  workingman  (Arbeiter)  and  a  craftsman 
(Handwerker)  is  that  the  former  is  nnskilled,  the  latter  skilled. 

*•  Bomemann  was  Prussian  Minister  of  Justice  March  to  June,  1848, 
and  a  member  of  the  Prussian  National  Assembly.  Patow  directed  the 
Ministry  of  Commerce,  Industry,  and  Public  Works  for  a  brief  period.  Ee- 
den  represented  Prussia  at  the  Frankfurt  Parliament.  Roenne  was  chair- 
man of  the  "Committee  on  Economic  Conditions"  of  the  Frankfurt  Par- 
liament. 


INDUSTRIAL   DISCONTENT  55 

obtained  was  insufficient  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  local 
society,  the  provincial  organizations   and    the    Central 
Society  were  to  make  contributions.     Local   societies, 
moreover,  were  to  report  to  the  central  organization. 
These  reports  were  to  be  published  so  that  all  branches 
might  profit  by  them.     The  general  plan  also  provided 
for  the  formation  of  similar  organizations  in  the  other 
states  of  the  Germanic  Confederation  and  for  general 
conventions  during  the  period  of  industrial  exhibitions. 
On  October  24,  1844,  the  king  approved  the  plan  and 
promised  the  Central  Society  15,000  Thaler  ($11,250.00). 
A  local  society  was  formed  in  Berlin.    By  January,  1845, 
it  had  three  hundred  members.     In  the  following  year, 
the  constitution  of  the  Central   Society  was  approved 
by  the  government.    But  in  spite  of  government  author- 
ization, the  organization  was  opposed  by  high  officials. 
Provincial  and  local  societies,  as  at  first  planned,  were 
not  established.     By  1847,  the  Central  Society  had  lost 
many  of  its  members.    It  was  saved  from  utter  collapse 
only  by  the  March  Revolution  (1848).    On  March  31st, 
twelve  days  after  the  fight  on  the  barricades,  the  king 
granted  it  corporate  rights  and  ordered  that  the  15,000 
Thaler  be  g^ven  to  it.     On  April  12th,  its  constitution 
was  approved  anew.    Two  days  later  a  second  invitation 
to  join  the  Society  was  issued.    This  invitation,  contain- 
ing the  Society's  attitude  toward  the  current  economic 
issues,  advised  the  workingmen  to  employ  peaceful  means 
to  obtain  their  ends,  and  advocated  the  formation  of 
unions  of  master-craftsmen  and  manufacturers  on  the 
one  hand,  and  of  journeymen  and  workingmen  on  the 
other;  or,  if  advisable,  a  union  of  all  employees  of  a 
particular  factory.    It  also  recommended  the  organization 
of  industrial   courts  on  which  workingmen   should  be 
represented. 


56  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

This  rejuvenated  Central  Society  flourished  almost 
immediately.  By  the  first  of  June  (1848)  it  had  340 
members  in  Prussia,  2  in  Baden,  and  i  in  Hamburg. 
Its  receipts  to  that  date,  including  one-half  of  the  king's 
gift,  amounted  to  $7,855.00;  its  expenditures  to  $7,589.00. 
Its  executive  committee  met  eleven  times  in  1848.  It 
published  the  "Communications  of  the  Central  Society." 
Thirty-one  local  and  provincial  societies  were  soon  organ- 
ized in  all  parts  of  Prussia.  The  'Xocal  Society  of  Ber- 
lin," after  experiencing  the  same  vicissitudes  as  the  Cen- 
tral Society,  succeeded  in  1848  in  carrying  out,  in  a 
large  measure,  the  plan  announced  four  years  before.  " 
Independent  organizations  doing  similar  work  sprang  up 
in  all  parts  of  Prussia.  ^* 

The  second  type  of  organization  called  forth  by  the 
lamentable  condition  of  the  proletariat  was  formed  by 
the  workingmen  themselves.  At  a  large  meeting  held 
in  Berlin  in  April,  1848,  they  established  a  local  asso- 
ciation. This  association  called  a  "Workmen's  Con- 
gress" to  convene  in  Berlin  in  August.  The  direct  result 
of  this  Congress  was  the  formation  of  local  branches 
of  the  association  in  all  parts  of  Germany  and  the  trans- 
fer of  the  "Central  Committee"  from  Berlin  to  Leipzic. 
This  Committee  published  a  bulletin  called  "The  Brother- 
hood." The  work  of  the  association  was  directed  toward 
securing  equal  opportunity  for  the  workingman.  A  sub- 
committee devoted  itself  to  the  interests  of  women 
workers.  ^ 

From  a  study  of  conditions  in  Prussia  between  1845 
and  1849,  three  things  are  obvious:  first,  that  the  im- 

27  cf.  p.  54. 

'^  Mittheilg.  d.  Centralvereina,  1848-49  and  1849-50.  Archiv  f.  vater- 
laend.    Interessen,  1845,  480.     AUg.  Ztg.    (A.),   1845,  Feb.   1. 

^MittheUg.  d.  Centralvereins  1849-50,  5te  Lieferg,  88-89.  Adler, 
Oesch.  d.  ersten  social-polit.  Arbeiterbewegg.,  157-158.  Biermann,  W.  E., 
Karl  Georg  Winhelblech,  II,  206-270. 


INDUSTRIAL  DISCONTENT  57 

favorable  agricultural  situation  and  the  new  industrial 
era  created  discontent  among  skilled  and  unskilled  work- 
men; secondly,  that,  owing  to  this  situation,  the  Indus- 
trial Law  of  1845  hardly  had  a  fair  chance  to  effect 
an  orderly  transition  from  an  antiquated  guild  economy 
to  a  modern  factory  economy;  and  thirdly,  that  the 
formation  of  benevolent  and  protective  organizations, 
independent  of  guild  control,  indicated  that  the  proleta- 
riat had  become  an  important  part  of  the  population. 


CHAPTER  III 
The  Industriai.  Probi.e;m  and  the  Government 

THE  discontent  among  the  working  classes  and 
the  promulgation  of  the  Industrial  Law  of 
1845  ^re  sufficient  evidence  that  the  industrial 
problem  was  one  of  the  paramount  issues  of  the  day. 
The  attention  of  the  state  was  repeatedly  called  to  it 
in  unprecedented  ways.  For  it  was  during  the  period 
from  1845  to  1849  that  the  press  was  freed  from  the 
inquisitorial  investigations  of  the  censor,  that  the  right 
of  holding  meetings  and  forming  associations  was 
granted,  that  the  privilege  of  petitioning  the  govern- 
ment was  extended,  and  that  the  advance  toward  parlia- 
mentary government  afforded  an  opportunity  for  the  dis- 
cussion of  public  questions  by  representatives  chosen  by 
the  people.  We  are  here  concerned,  however,  primarily 
with  the  way  in  which  the  government  and  the  parlia- 
mentary bodies  sought  to  solve  the  industrial  problem. 

The  nearest  approach  to  parliamentary  government  in 
Prussia  prior  to  1847  is  to  be  found  in  the  periodic 
assembly  of  the  Estates,  known  as  Provincial  Diets. 
These  Diets  had  received  the  right  to  petition  the  king 
on  questions  relating  to  the  welfare  of  their  respective 
provinces.  It  was  in  the  exercise  of  this  right  that 
they  presented  their  grievances  regarding  the  industrial 
situation.  In  their  petitions  they  asked  for  a  new  indus- 
trial law,  ^  for  the  formation  of  a  ministry  of  commerce 
and  industry,  for  the  institution  of  charitable  funds  for 
handworkers  and  journeymen,   for  the  amelioration  of 

1  Granted  1845. 


RESPONSE  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  59 

the  conditions  of  the  weavers  of  Westphalia,  and  for  the 
aboHtion  of  the  truck  system.  ^  The  Pomeranian  Diet 
of  1845  requested  the  gradual  withdrawal  of  the  "Mari- 
time Trading  Company"  from  industrial  enterprises,  the 
abolition  of  the  tax  on  the  grinding  of  grain  (Mahl- 
steuer)  and  on  the  slaughtering  of  cattle  {Schlacht- 
steuer),  and  the  partial  remission  of  the  class  tax  levied 
upon  the  lower  classes.  ^  These  requests  were  repeated 
in  1847  ^^^  1848.  Many  of  them  were  granted  before 
the  Revolution  had  spent  its  force. 

The  first  opportunity  for  a  general  discussion  of  these 
requests  was  afforded  by  the  First  United  Diet.  It 
was  called  by  a  royal  proclamation  of  February  3,  1847, 
to  meet  in  Berlin.  On  April  nth,  the  king  opened 
the  new  assembly  in  person.  In  his  speech  from  the 
throne,  he  called  attention  to  the  assistance  rendered 
by  the  state  in  alleviating  the  distress  resulting  from 
heavy  rains  and  poor  harvests,  and  expressed  great  pleas- 
ure in  being  able  to  present  $1,500,000  to  the  provinces 
for  the  benefit  of  their  charitable  funds.  He  stated, 
furthermore,  that  roads  and  canals  were  being  built  and 
other  improvements  made  on  a  scale  hitherto  unprece- 
dented, and  that  industry  and  commerce,  although  suffer- 
ing from  the  general  depression,  were  as  flourishing  as 
circumstances  permitted.  Strange  to  say,  he  made  no 
reference  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  master-craftsmen 
with  industrial  freedom,  or  to  the  hardships  suffered 
by  the  workingmen  because  of  the  growth  of  the  factory 
system.  * 

In  accordance  with  the  rules  of  order  laid  down  by 
the  king,  a  number  of  royal  propositions  were  presented 

"  Nauwerck,  K.,  Raiiptergehnisse  d.  Landtagsabschiede  in  Preussen, 
1841,  1843,  1843.     29  et  passim. 

8  Terhandlungen  d.  neunten  Prov.  Landtags  iyn  Herzogthum  Pommem, 
1845,  72.     Allg.  Ztg.    (A.),  1845,  Jan.  22,  Mar.   14;   1846,  Apr.  1. 

*  Terhandlungen  d.   ersten   Ter.  Landtags,  pt.   I,   20  ff. 


60  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

to  the  Diet  for  discussion.  Those  of  particular  import- 
ance were  the  introduction  of  an  income  tax  (as  a  sub- 
stitute for  the  tax  on  the  grinding  of  grain,  and  on  the 
slaughtering  of  cattle,  and  the  class  tax)  ;  the  establish- 
ment of  charitable  funds  in  every  province ;  and  the  aboli- 
tion of  certain  industrial  restrictions  upon  Jews.  "^ 

The  royal  proposition  recommending  an  income  tax, 
together  with  the  draft  of  the  proposed  law  and  the  peti- 
tions from  the  provinces,  was  referred  to  a  committee. 
The  draft  provided  for  a  tax  of  3%  on  incomes  over 
$300  derived  from  investments,  and  of  2%  on  the  same 
incomes  if  derived  from  trades,  or  if  obtained  in  the 
form  of  salaries  or  pensions.  Persons  with  incomes  of 
less  than  $300  were  divided  into  six  classes  and  taxed 
from  six  dollars  to  thirty-seven  cents.  The  reasons  for 
proposing  this  tax  and  for  urging  the  abolition  of  the 
Mahlsteuer  and  the  Schlachtsteuer  are  stated  as  fol- 
lows :  ( I )  the  desire  to  abolish  within  the  monarchy 
the  tariff  barriers  necessary  for  the  collection  of  these 
taxes;  (2)  the  high  rate  of  taxation;  (3)  the  injustice 
of  making  persons  subject  to  the  class  tax  but  living 
near  towns  in  which  the  Mahlsteuer  and  the  Schlacht- 
steuer are  collected,  pay  both  kinds  of  taxes;  and  (4) 
the  burden  placed  upon  the  lower  classes  by  taxing  their 
food.  * 

On  June  loth,  the  committee  reported  to  the  Diet. 
It  recommended  the  rejection  of  the  king's  proposal 
because  the  determination  of  a  person's  income  required 
an  investigation  of  his  private  affairs,  and  because  of 

^Tbid.,  28. 

■  The  tax  on  the  grinding  of  grain  and  the  slaughtering  of  cattle  was 
introduced  in  1820.  It  was  restricted  to  132  towns  at  the  time  of  its  in- 
troduction. By  1847  this  number  was  greatly  reduced.  The  tax  amounted 
to  40  cents  per  cwt.  on  wheat,  and  10  cents  per  cwt.  on  rye,  barley,  and 
othfr  grain.  Meat  was  taxed  at  the  rate  of  75  cents  per  cwt.  The 
class  tax  varied  from  30  cents  to  $12.  P.  O.  S.  1820,  133-147.  Yerhand- 
lungen  d.  erst.  Yer.  Landtags,  pt.  I,  29-54.  Beckerath,  E.,  Die  preuss- 
Klassensteuer,   1  ff. 


RESPONSE  OF  THE   GOVERNMENT  6l 

the  premium  the  new  tax  would  put  on  deception.  In 
the  debate  that  followed,  Hansemann,  president  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  supported  the 
committee,  while  Camphausen,  president  of  the  Cologne 
Chamber,  favored  the  royal  proposition.  Von  Duesberg, 
Minister  of  Finance,  defended  the  measure  on  the  ground 
that  the  introduction  of  an  income  tax  would  be  a  step 
in  the  right  direction  and  would  distribute  the  burden 
of  taxation  more  equitably.  The  Diet  adopted  the  report 
of  the  committee  by  a  vote  of  390  to  141.  In  order, 
however,  that  the  Diet  might  not  appear  oblivious  to 
the  lamentable  condition  of  the  lower  classes  and  that 
it  might  avoid  the  charge  of  refusing  to  tax  persons 
in  proportion  to  their  ability  to  pay,  it  resolved  that 
the  king  be  requested  to  take  the  matter  under  advise- 
ment and  to  submit  a  new  proposal  to  the  next  Diet. 
This  motion  was  carried  by  a  vote  of  248  to  232. '' 

The  king,  however,  was  not  bound  by  vote  of  the  Diet. 
His  independence  in  matters  of  taxation  is  seen  as  early 
as  December,  1846,  when  he  suspended  the  tax  on  the 
grinding  of  rye  purchased  by  municipalities  and  private 
organizations  if  the  bread  made  from  it  were  sold  to 
the  poor  at  a  nominal  sum.  In  January,  1847,  the  tax 
on  the  grinding  of  all  other  grain  but  wheat  was  sus- 
pended. In  April,  the  king  declared  that,  in  view  of 
the  high  price  of  food,  the  grinding  of  all  grain  would 
be  free  from  taxation  until  August  ist;  and,  in  July,  the 
opposition  of  the  United  Diet  to  the  abolition  of  the 
Mahlsteuer  and  the  Schlachtsteuer  and  the  introduction 
of  an  income  tax  was  announced  in  the  official  gazette 
of  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior.  ^  In  regard  to  the  class 
tax,  the  king  decreed  (April  7th)  that  it  be  suspended 

■'Yerh.  d.  erst.  Ver.  Landtags,  pt.  II,  1576-1593,  1659,  1693-1694. 
Beckerath,  E.,  ibid.,  27-52. 

^  CentralBl.  1847,  3,  28,  46.     Mm.-Bl.  1847,  186. 


62  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

for  three  months;  and  the  Minister  of  Finance,  oa 
August  4th,  advised  the  governors  of  the  provinces  to 
apply  a  lower  rate  of  taxation  to  the  poorer  classes  than 
the  law  provided,  and  to  show  them  every  consideration 
in  collecting  the  tax,  ® 

The  second  royal  proposition  of  interest  in  connection 
with  the  industrial  problem,  dealt  with  the  institution  of 
charitable  funds  in  all  the  provinces.  In  all  probability, 
the  king  got  the  idea  of  such  funds  from  the  one  insti- 
tuted in  Westphalia  in  183 1,  which  was  used  to  provide 
loans  to  communities  for  the  construction  of  public 
works  and  the  alleviation  of  distress,  and  to  enterpris- 
ing business  men  for  the  introduction  of  new  industries. 
While  the  specific  objects  of  the  new  funds  were  not 
expressly  stated,  they  may  be  assumed  to  be  similar  to, 
if  not  identical  with,  those  of  the  Westphalian  fund. 
To  enable  the  provinces  to  start  these  funds,  the  king 
promised  them  a  loan  of  $1,875,000  without  interest, 
to  be  apportioned  among  them  according  to  population, 
area,  and  amount  of  direct  taxes  raised.  ^°  The  commit- 
tee to  which  this  proposition  was  referred  recommended 
that  the  Diet  accept  it,  and  that  a  Committee  of  Thirty- 
two  be  elected,  eight  from  the  House  of  Lords  and 
twenty-four  from  the  Chamber  of  the  Three  Estates, 
each  of  the  four  Estates  ^^  of  every  province  electing 
one  member.  This  Committee  of  Thirty-two  was  to 
confer  with  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior  in  regard  to 

'Central-Bl.  1847,  149. 

1"  The  apportionment  was  as  follows : 

Prussia     $300,000        Silesia     $337,500 

Pomerania    $150,000        Saxony    $225,000 

BrandenbTirg    $240,000        Westphalia $165,000 

Posen    $157,000        Rhine  Prov $300,000 

The  diflFerence  between  the  $1,875,000  promised  in  the  royal  propo- 
sition and  the  $1,500,000  referred  to  in  the  speech  from  the  throne  is 
doubtless  owing  to  the  fact  that,  in  the  interval,  the  necessity  for  a  larger 
amount  became  apparent. 

"  The  four  Estates  represented  in  the  United  Diet  were :  noblemen^ 
knights,  cities,  and  rural  communities. 


RESPONSE  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  63 

the  use  and  administration  of  the  funds  and  to  make 
definite  proposals  to  the  Provincial  Diets,  so  that  the 
funds  might  be  established  as  soon  as  possible.  The 
Diet  accepted  this  report  by  a  great  majority,  and  the 
king  promised  to  submit  the  proposals  of  the  Committee 
of  Thirty-two  to  the  next  Provincial  Diets.  ^^ 

The  third  royal  proposition  referred  to  the  status  of 
Jews.  It  explained  the  privileges  granted  to  them  by 
the  Industrial  Law  of  1845,  ^^^  submitted  the  draft 
of  a  new  law.  After  considerable  discussion  by  the 
Diet,  the  new  law  was  promulgated  July  23,  1847.  Its 
contribution  to  industrial  freedom  was  discussed  in  con- 
nection with  the  Law  of  1845.  ^^ 

In  addition  to  the  royal  propositions,  the  rules  of  order 
regulating  the  procedure  of  the  United  Diet  permitted 
also  the  presentation  of  petitions.  The  result  was,  that 
many  requests  were  made  regarding  a  multiplicity  of 
subjects.  Twenty-six  of  these  requests  advised  the  adop- 
tion of  various  means  to  alleviate  the  poverty  of  the 
masses.  They  suggested  the  construction  of  public 
works,  the  prohibition  of  the  use  of  potatoes  for  dis- 
tilling whiskey,  the  closing  of  distilleries,  an  embargo 
on  the  exportation  of  grain  and  potatoes,  the  prohibi- 
tion of  the  hoarding  of  grain,  the  sale  of  any  surplus 
grain  over  twice  the  amount  necessary  until  the  next 
harvest,  and  the  prohibition  of  dealing  in  futures.  ^* 

These  twenty-six  petitions  were  referred  to  a  com- 
mittee for  consideration.  The  committee  reported  un- 
favorably on  all  but  three.  One  of  the  three  dealt  with 
the  question  of  providing  work  for  the  poor.  With 
respect  to  it,  the  committee  recommended  that  the  gov- 

^Terh.  d.  erst.  Ter.  Landtags,  pt.  I,  748;  pt.  II,  132-136,  1576. 
« Cf.  p.  25.     YerTi.  d.  erst.  Ter.  Landtags,  pt.  I,   281.     P.  G.  S.  1847, 
263,  fif., 

"FerR.  etc.,  pt.  I,  585  fP.;  pt.  II,  97  fiP. 


64  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

emment  be  urged  to  provide  employment  by  constructing 
public  works,  and  that  the  formation  of  private  organ- 
izations for  similar  purposes  be  encouraged.  This  recom- 
mendation was  adopted  by  both  Houses  and  sent  to 
the  king.  In  his  reply,  the  king  called  attention  to  the 
money  put  at  the  disposal  of  the  Minister  of  Finance 
for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  and  promised  to  encourage 
the  building  of  roads  by  corporations  receiving  state 
subsidies.  A  survey  of  the  official  collection  of  Prussian 
laws  will  show  that,  in  1847  ^^^  1848,  more  than  fifty 
cabinet  orders  were  issued  granting  permission  to  build 
and  repair  roads  in  all  parts  of  the  monarchy,  and  that 
twenty  orders  granted  the  right  to  build  railways.  ^' 

The  second  petition,  regarding  which  the  committee 
gave  a  favorable  report,  requested  an  embargo  on  the 
export  of  grain  and  potatoes.  While  refusing  to  include 
grain  in  the  embargo,  the  committee  did  advocate  the 
prohibition  of  the  exportation  of  potatoes  to  countries 
not  in  the  Customs  Union.  This  embargo  was  to  remain 
in  force  until  the  next  harvest,  and  was  to  apply  espe- 
cially to  Brandenburg,  Posen,  and  Saxony,  and  to  the 
other  provinces  provided  the  several  governors  thought 
it  advisable  to  enforce  it.  This  report,  amended  so  as 
to  extend  the  embargo  to  all  the  provinces  alike,  was 
adopted  by  both  Houses.  The  royal  decree  of  May  ist 
added  grain  and  forbade  the  exportation  of  both  until 
November  i,  1847.  ^' 

The  third  petition  requested  that  the  distilling  of  whis- 
key from  grain  and  potatoes  be  prohibited  from  May 
first  to  August  fifteenth.  The  committee  recommended 
that  this  prohibition  apply  only  to  potatoes,  but  the 
Lower  House  included  grain.    After  the  Upper  House 

^Ihid.,  pt.   II,    736-761;    1055-1058;    1317-1318.     P.   G.   S.   1847-48. 
"  Yerh.  d.  erst.  Ver.  Landtags,  pt.  II,  100  fif.  169.     P.  G.  S.  1847,  194. 


RESPONSE  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  65 

adopted  the  measure  without  amendment,  the  king  or- 
dered its  enforcement.  ^^ 

Other  petitions  relating  to  the  welfare  of  the  masses 
and  the  industrial  situation,  requested  a  change  in  the 
tariff  system,  the  abolition  of  the  state's  monopoly  of 
salt,  the  organization  of  a  ministry  of  industry  and  com- 
merce, and  amendments  to  the  Industrial  Law  of  1845.  ^* 
With  regard  to  the  first  of  these  petitions,  the  Diet 
could  not  come  to  an  agreement.  Consequently,  it  merely 
requested  that  the  king,  after  consulting  with  experts, 
submit  the  question  to  the  next  Customs  Conference. 
The  abolition  of  the  salt  monopoly  was  advocated  by 
the  Upper  House,  but  not  by  the  Lower.  There  the 
matter  rested.  ^®  The  formation  of  a  ministry  of  indus- 
try and  commerce  was  discussed  only  in  the  Chamber  of 
the  Three  Estates.  A  petition  to  the  king  in  favor  of 
such  a  ministry  was  drawn  up.  But  it  was  not  until 
April  17,  1848 — one  month  after  the  Revolution  in  Ber- 
lin— that  the  king  consented  to  the  formation  of  a  "Min- 
istry of  Commerce,  Industry,  and  Public  Works."  ^° 
The  committee  reporting  on  the  petitions  asking  for 
changes  in  the  Industrial  Law  refused  to  consider  the 
question  because  the  government  was  already  giving  the 
matter  its  attention.  ^^  On  June  26,  1847,  the  first  United 
Diet  was  formally  closed.  ^^ 

From  this  survey  of  the  action  taken  by  the  king  and 
the  consultative  diets  previous  to  1848,  it  is  obvious 
that  the  industrial  problem  was  pressing  for  solution. 
Two  of  Frederick  William's  suggestions  were  accepted 
by  the  United  Diet,  namely,  the  establishment  of  charit- 

"  Verh.  d.  erst.  Ver.  Landtags,  pt.  IT,  100,  120,  177.  P.  G.  S.  1847, 
194. 

M  Yerh.  d.  erst.  Ver.  Landtags,  pt.  I,  597,  609,  681-719,  pt.  II,  685  fif. 

^Ibid.,  pt.  I,  599;  pt.  II,   1041  ff.,   1331-1346. 

'°Ibid.,  pt.  I,   596;   pt.   II,   1013-1030.     P.   G.  S.  1848,   109. 

^Yerh..  etc.,  pt.  I,  595  ff . ;  pt.  II,  98,  100. 

«i6»d.,  pt.  II.   2487. 


66  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

able  funds  in  the  provinces  and  the  removal  of  certain 
restrictions  upon  Jews.  The  proposal  that  an  income 
tax  be  substituted  for  the  tax  on  the  grinding  of  grain 
and  on  the  slaughtering  of  cattle,  and  for  the  class  tax, 
was  rejected.  But  despite  this  fact,  the  king  suspended 
the  tax  on  grain  and  the  class  tax  for  a  specified  period. 
The  petitions  requesting  an  embargo  on  the  exportation 
of  grain  and  potatoes  and  the  prohibition  of  their  use 
for  distilling  whiskey  were  acceded  to  by  the  king.  The 
other  petitions  were  not  granted  because,  on  the  one 
hand,  the  Diet  could  not  agree  on  them,  and,  on  the 
other,  the  king  refused  to  take  any  action. 

In  the  interval  between  the  first  and  the  second  United 
Diets,  momentous  events  occurred.  The  Joint  Commit- 
tee of  the  first  United  Diet  convened  January  17,  1848, 
but  devoted  its  attention  wholly  to  the  drafting  of  a 
new  penal  code.  *'  The  censorship  of  the  press  was 
abolished  March  seventeenth.  ^*  The  next  day,  revolu- 
tion broke  out  in  Berlin;  and  Frederick  William  issued 
a  proclamation  relative  to  a  German  Customs  Union 
in  which  he  "demanded"  a  general  naturalization  law, 
freedom  of  travel,  uniform  weights  and  measures,  a 
common  commercial  code,  and  the  abolition  of  the  tariff 
barriers  between  the  various  states.  ^'  On  the  twenty- 
second  of  March,  the  king  appointed  Camphausen,  a  lib- 
eral business  man,  President  of  the  Council  of  State, 
and  Hansemann,  also  a  business  man  with  liberal  con- 
victions. Minister  of  Finance.  ^'  According  to  the  Weser 
Zeitung,  Hansemann  agreed  to  accept  the  appointment 
only  after  the  king  had  promised  to  put  $4,500,000  at 

*  Bleich,  E.  Verh.  d.  i.  J.  1848  zusammenberufenen  Yereinigten  staend. 
Ausschugaes,  I,   9-10. 
«*P.  O.  S.  1848,  69. 
»i£xn.Bl.   1848,  82. 
««76«.,  1848,  91. 


Average    prices    per    Scheffel    in    Silbergroschen 
on    reports    in    "Amtsblatt    der    Koenig'lichen    Regjeru 

wheat 

. peas 

rye 

1  Silbergro.sciien  =  $  .0235  i 

(No    price   quotation    for    small    bl 


RESPONSE  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  67 

his  disposal  for  the  benefit  of  the  industries  of  the 
■country.  ^^ 

The  disturbances  of  March,  1848,  hastened  the  call- 
ing of  the  second  Diet.  It  met  from  April  2nd  to  April 
loth.  In  its  address  to  the  king,  the  Diet  asked  him  to 
give  more  attention  to  the  welfare  of  the  workingmen 
and  the  craftsmen,  and  to  restore  order  by  legal  means. 
On  the  third  of  April,  Frederick  William,  apparently 
urged  by  the  liberal  president  of  the  Council  of  State, 
informed  the  Diet  that  the  modification  of  the  plan  of 
government  made  a  change  in  the  system  of  taxation 
necessary.  It  was  distinctly  stated  that  the  purpose  of 
the  change  was  to  lessen  the  burden  of  taxation  resting 
upon  the  lower  classes.  This  burden,  the  statement  con- 
tinued, was  heavier  in  cities  where  the  tax  on  the  grind- 
ing of  grain  was  levied  than  in  those  parts  of  the  mon- 
archy where  the  class  tax  was  collected.  Furthermore, 
the  tax  on  the  grinding  of  grain  was  said  to  be  borne 
largely  by  the  lower  classes,  because  almost  one-half  of 
it  was  derived  from  rye  flour.  No  recommendations 
were  made  to  abolish  the  tax  on  the  slaughtering  of  cat- 
tle, because  that  tax  rested  primarily  on  the  wealthy. 
On  the  fourth  of  April,  Hansemann  informed  the  Diet 
that  a  decree  ordering  these  changes  had  been  issued.  ^' 

The  decree  permitted  the  abolition  of  the  Mahlsteuer 
m  those  cities  which  requested  it,  and  the  substitution  of 
a  direct  tax,  amounting  to  two-thirds  of  the  old  tax. 
Whatever  the  form  of  the  substitute,  however,  hand- 
workers, day-laborers,  and  all  who  were  impoverished 
by  the  decline  of  their  trade  were  exempt  from  paying 
the  tax.  Cities  that  preferred  to  retain  the  old  tax  were 
permitted  to  devote  one-third  of  the  gross  proceeds  to 

«  Weser  Ztg.,  1848,  Apr.  6. 

**  Bleich,  E.,  Yerhandlungen  d.  z.  2  Apr.  1848  zusammetiberufenen 
Ver.  Landtags,  72-73,  169-172. 


68  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

the  welfare  of  the  working  classes.  This  decree  was 
to  remain  in  force  until  a  truly  representative  body- 
agreed  upon  ways  and  means  to  regulate  the  matter.  ^^ 

In  the  royal  proposition  of  April  fourth,  the  king  re- 
quested that,  inasmuch  as  the  unusual  character  of  the 
times  made  it  impossible  to  present  drafts  of  laws  for 
approval,  the  Diet  should  declare  itself  willing  to  acqui- 
esce in  any  financial  measures  the  government  might 
find  it  necessary  to  adopt  for  the  defense  of  the  realm, 
the  support  of  industry,  and  the  welfare  of  the  work- 
ingman.  It  was  stated  that  these  measures  would  deal 
primarily  with  the  increase  of  the  rate  of  taxation  and 
the  negotiation  of  loans.  Hansemann,  who  was  still 
Minister  of  Finance,  was  to  assume  full  responsibility. 
In  a  speech  on  the  proposition,  Hansemann  stated  that 
it  would  be  necessary  to  provide  funds  to  prevent  starva- 
tion among  a  large  part  of  the  population,  and  to  keep 
the  industries  of  the  country  from  shutting  down  com- 
pletely. "'°  The  committee  to  which  this  proposition  was 
referred,  recommended  that  the  government  be  empow- 
ered to  acquire,  by  increased  taxation,  the  sum  of 
$11,250,000  for  the  internal  and  external  protection  of 
the  country,  and  to  assume  guarantees  to  the  extent  of 
$18,750,000  for  the  restoration  of  credit  and  the  encour- 
agement of  agriculture,  industry,  and  commerce.  The 
Diet,  in  its  closing  session  on  the  loth,  accepted  this 
report  almost  unanimously.^^ 

While  the  committee  was  considering  the  royal  prop- 
osition, Hansemann  again  spoke  of  the  necessity  of  help- 
ing the  workingman,  and  stated  that,  while  the  Min- 
istry of  Finance  was  paying  especial  attention  to  his 
welfare,  still  more  would  have  to  be  done  for  him.    On 

"Min.-Bl.   1848,  129. 
MBleich,  E.,   Yerh.  etc.,  70-72. 
»/6id.,  135,  154. 


RESPONSE  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  69 

the  same  day  that  Hansemann  made  these  remarks  (April 
5th),  a  ministerial  order  announced  that  $750,000  had 
been  appropriated  from  the  state  treasury  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  special  fund  {Unterstuetzungskasse)  to  be 
administered  by  a  committee  consisting  of  from  three  to 
five  merchants  and  manufacturers,  and  a  commissioner 
of  the  government.  This  fund  was  to  be  used  for  mak- 
ing loans  on  good  security  and  for  discounting  com- 
mercial paper  endorsed  by  two  reliable  persons.  The 
rate  of  interest  was  five  per  cent.  Only  manufacturers 
and  merchants  who  were  unable  to  get  money  elsewhere 
and  who  agreed  to  use  the  money  to  provide  work  for 
their  employees,  were  entitled  to  the  privileges  of  this 
fund.  ^^ 

On  the  sixth  of  April,  four  days  before  the  close  of 
the  Diet,  and,  apparently,  without  any  definite  request 
from  it,  the  king  granted  all  Prussians  the  right  of  asso- 
ciation, made  the  acquisition  of  burghership  independent 
of  creed,  and  promised  the  future  representatives  of 
the  people  a  voice  in  making  laws,  in  determining  the 
budget,  and  in  granting  supplies.  ^^ 

Thus,  in  the  period  during  which  the  second  United 
Diet  was  in  session,  a  great  deal  was  done  for  the  com- 
mon weal.  An  attempt  was  made  to  shift  the  incidence 
of  taxation,  at  least  in  part,  from  the  lower  classes  to 
the  upper;  a  special  fund  was  established  for  those 
engaged  in  industry  and  commerce;  and  the  govern- 
ment was  empowered  to  raise  funds  and  to  assume  guar- 
antees for  the  defense  of  the  state  and  the  restoration 
of  credit.  From  the  political  point  of  view,  it  is  inter- 
esting to  observe  that  the  king,  while  still  untrammeled 
in  theory,  found  it  advisable  to  obtain  beforehand  the 

MJbwZ.,  82.     Min.-Bl.  1848,  101-102. 
»afm.-BI.   1848,  145-146. 


70 


INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 


approval  of  the  Diet  for  certain  measures  indispensable 
for  the  welfare  of  the  country,  and  to  grant  to  the  people, 
seemingly  on  his  own  initiative,  but  actually  because  of 
the  uprisings  of  March,  a  voice  in  making  laws. 

Shortly  after  the  Diet  was  prorogued,  Frederick  Wil- 
liam, making  use  of  the  Diet's  approval  to  assume  guar- 
antees, established  a  loan-bank  with  power  to  issue  notes 
in  denominations  of  one  to  five  Thaler  to  the  extent  of 
$7,500,000  and  to  offer  loans  on  good  security  for  com- 
mercial and  industrial  purposes.  ^*  A  little  later  (April 
24th)  the  government  made  use  of  the  approval  of  the 
Diet  to  raise  money  by  levying  additional  taxes  and 
called  for  a  sur-tax  (Ersatzsteuer) .  In  advising  the  vari- 
ous local  authorities  as  to  ways  and  means  of  raising 
this  tax,  the  government  recommended  the  substitution 
of  an  income  tax  for  the  tax  on  the  slaughtering  of 
cattle,  and  a  sur-tax  upon  incomes,  where  an  income 
tax  already  existed,  and  upon  land  and  trades.  With 
respect  to  the  trade  tax,  however,  the  additional  tax  was 
restricted  to  fixed  trades,  of  which  the  small  ones  were 
to  be  spared  as  much  as  possible.  Where  the  extra  tax 
was  put  on  house  rents  (Miethssteuer) ,  the  lowest  rents 
were  exempt.  ^^ 

Another  concession  won  by  the  Revolution  was  the 
formation  of  a  "Ministry  of  Commerce,  Industry,  and 
Public  Works."  The  king,  after  promising  on  March 
^7th  to  establish  this  Ministry,  called  it  into  existence 
-on  April  17th  by  assigning  to  a  new  department  the 
commercial  and  industrial  duties  which  previously  had 
been  divided  between  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior  and 
the  Ministry  of  Finance.  Von  Patow  was  put  at  the 
head  of  the  new  Ministry.  ^^ 

«P.  G.  S.  1848,  105-108. 
^Central-Bl.  1848,  71-72. 
«»P.   G.  S.   1848,   109. 


RESPONSE  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  71 

On  May  8th,  this  Ministry  issued  a  statement  relat- 
ing to  the  industry  of  the  country.  After  stating  that 
the  government  was  seriously  considering  the  condition 
of  all  the  working  classes,  it  called  attention  to  the  fact 
that  a  one-sided  interference  would  be  of  no  avail,  be- 
cause of  the  interrelationship  of  the  various  kinds  of 
productive  enterprises,  of  capital  and  labor,  and  of  em- 
ployer and  employee.  It  also  pointed  out  that,  while 
changes  desirable  from  a  local  point  of  view  might  not 
result  in  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number,  reme- 
dies would,  nevertheless,  have  to  be  determined  by  local 
conditions  and  by  the  peculiar  features  of  each  branch 
of  industry.  Believing,  moreover,  that  a  great  part  of 
the  ill-feeling  existing  between  employer  and  employee 
could  be  eradicated  only  by  the  voluntary  agreement  of 
both  parties,  and  knowing  that  the  drafting  of  an  indus- 
trial law  presupposed  a  detailed  knowledge  of  condi- 
tions, the  Ministry  declared  that  the  active  co-operation 
of  all  industrial  classes  was  indispensable  in  forming 
an  intelligent  opinion  on  the  state  of  industry,  and  in 
finding  proper  solutions.  It  was  for  the  purpose  of  put- 
ting these  convictions  into  practice  that  von  Patow  re- 
quested the  industrial  classes  to  form  Local  Commit- 
tees consisting  of  employers  (manufacturers  and  master- 
craftsmen)  and  employees  (workingmen,  journeymen, 
and  assistants),  each  class  electing  representatives  from 
its  own  group.  These  committees  were  to  investigate 
the  objectionable  features  of  the  industrial  system,  to  de- 
fine the  points  at  issue,  and  to  recommend  solutions. 
Their  recommendations  were  to  be  sent  for  examina- 
tion to  District  Commissions,  consisting  of  delegates 
from  the  Local  Committees  and  under  the  direction  of 
an  official  of  the  government.  These  commissions  could 
add  recommendations  of  their  own.    Above  the  District 


72 


INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 


Commission  there  was  a  Central  Commission  of  which 
the  Minister  of  Commerce,  Industry,  and  Public  Works 
was  chairman.  It  consisted  of  experienced  representa- 
tives— both  employers  and  employees — of  the  various 
branches  of  industry.  Its  purpose  was  to  direct  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  district  and  local  bodies,  to  consider  all 
resolutions  requesting  amendments  to  the  Industrial  Law, 
and  to  examine  questions  not  settled  by  the  other  bodies. 
Von  Patow  promised  to  put  into  effect  all  just  and  prac- 
ticable recommendations,  and  agreed  to  show  that  those 
which  the  government  could  not  carry  out  were  incon- 
sistent both  with  the  best  interests  of  the  persons  making 
them  and  with  the  common  weal.  ^^ 

One  of  the  greatest  results  of  the  March  Revolution 
of  1848  was  the  meeting  of  the  people's  representatives 
in  a  Prussian  National  Assembly.  Called  together  by 
a  royal  proclamation  of  May  13th,  the  Assembly  con- 
vened on  the  twenty-second  to  hear  the  speech  from 
the  throne.  In  this  speech,  the  king  stated  that  every 
effort  had  been  made  to  provide  work  for  the  unem- 
ployed, and  that  these  efforts  must  be  increased.  He 
/impressed  upon  the  Assembly  the  fact  that  the  restora- 
tion of  public  confidence  and  the  revival  of  trade  and 
industry  depended  largely  upon  them.  ^^ 

The  interest  of  the  people  in  the  industrial  situation 
was  evidenced  by  the  large  number  of  petitions  on  that 
subject.  Some  of  these  petitions  were  general  in  char- 
acter and  requested  measures  for  the  alleviation  of  the 
general  distress;  others  were  more  specific,  and  asked 
for  a  limitation  of  the  number  of  factories  and  railways. 
Craftsmen  demanded  higher  wages,  the  re-introduction 
of  the  masterpiece,  the  limitation  of  the  number  of  jour- 

*"3Iin.-Bl.   1848,   168-169. 

^  Stenogr.  Berichte,  I,  viii  and  1. 


RESPONSE  OF  THE   GOVERNMENT  73 

neymen  and  their  exclusion  from  the  rural  districts, 
and  the  abolition  of  itinerant  trades.  The  journeymen- 
clothmakers  of  Kottbus  requested  the  establishment  of 
a  ministry  of  labor  and  shorter  hours.  The  day-laborers 
wanted  better  working  conditions  and  more  pay.  Twenty- 
one  petitions  requested  the  promotion  of  the  weaving 
and  spinning  industry,  253  demanded  a  new  industrial 
law,  and  315  the  curtailment  of  industrial  freedom. 
Only  a  few  requests  were  made  for  the  retention  of 
industrial  freedom,  the  extension  of  the  market  trade 
with  manufactured  articles,  and  the  extension  of  itinerant 
trading  privileges.  With  respect  to  taxation,  121  peti- 
tions demanded  the  abolition  or  lowering  of  the  class 
tax,  the  abolition  of  the  tax  on  the  grinding  of  grain,  on 
the  slaughtering  of  cattle,  and  on  trades,  and  the  intro- 
duction of  an  income  tax. 

These  petitions  were  sent  from  all  parts  of  the  mon- 
archy, but  primarily  from  the  central  and  eastern  sec- 
tions. Most  of  them  represented  the  opinion  of  master- 
craftsmen.  From  their  general  tendency,  it  is  apparent 
that  there  was  a  strong  reaction  in  favor  of  a  stricter 
and  narrower  system  of  guild  economy.  ^^ 

In  view  of  the  large  number  of  petitions  on  industrial 
re-adjustment,  the  Prussian  National  Assembly,  although 
elected  primarily  to  draft  a  constitution,  was  bound  to 
devote  part  of  its  time  to  industrial  problems.  A  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  investigate  the  condition  of 
the  spinners  and  weavers.  Milde,  who  had  succeeded 
von  Patow  as  Minister  of  Commerce,  Industry,  and 
Public  Works,  assured  this  committee  of  the  support  of 
the  government.  A  motion  of  the  Assembly  to  call 
the  attention  of  the  Council  of  State  to  the  condition  of 
the  Silesian  weavers  and  spinners,  was  followed  by  the 

''Ibid.,  I  and  II,  passim. 


74 


INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 


announcement  that  the  king  had  already  appropriated 
the  sum  of  $75,000  for  their  relief.  In  October,  the 
attention  of  the  government  was  called  to  the  lamentable 
condition  of  the  weavers  in  Westphalia.  *° 

The  petitions  relative  to  the  condition  of  day-laborers 
called  forth  several  motions  to  provide  work  for  them, 
and  three  interpellations  of  the  Minister  of  Commerce, 
Industry,  and  Public  Works  in  regard  to  labor  disturb- 
ances. The  result  of  the  motions  was  a  royal  decree 
of  June  14th  ordering  that  as  much  of  the  Stargard- 
Posen  Railway  should  be  built  as  would  be  necessary 
to  employ  the  men  out  of  work.  By  August  15th,  twenty- 
two  hundred  men  were  working  there.  *^  The  answers 
to  the  interpellations  are  important  because  of  the  in- 
formation they  contain.  The  first  interpellation  referred 
to  the  disturbances  in  front  of  von  Patow's  residence 
on  May  30th.  The  Minister  explained  that  they  were 
caused  by  the  introduction  of  piece-work  and  the  rule 
that  only  men  with  registration  cards,  showing  their 
qualifications,  were  to  be  employed  in  the  construction 
of  public  works.  In  answering  the  second  interpella- 
tion, relative  to  the  unemployed,  von  Patow  stated  that 
more  than  four  thousand  men  were  employed  by  the  state 
in  digging  canals  in  the  vicinity  of  Berlin.  He  also  re- 
ferred to  the  fact  that  the  clause  in  the  Prussian  Code 
of  1794,  *^  which  guaranteed  to  every  man  the  oppor- 
tunity to  work,  was  never  enforced  by  the  state  alone, 
and  that  municipalities,  by  providing  for  the  poor,  took 
over  part  of  the  responsibility.  *^  The  third  interpella- 
tion requested  an  explanation  of  the  dismissal  of  a  num- 
ber of  workmen  employed  in  constructing  the  Berlin- 

»rbid.,  I,  307,  367;  II,  1051,  1056;  III,  1562,  1769,  1771. 
*^rbid.,  I,  152  et  passim.     P.  Q.  S.  1848,  154. 
**Pt.  II,  title  19. 
*'Stenogr.  Berichte,  I  150. 


RESPONSE  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  75 

Spandau  Canal.  Milde,  the  new  Minister  of  Commerce, 
Industry,  and  Public  Works,  replied  that  there  was  work 
at  the  canal  for  about  eighteen  hundred  persons,  but 
that  twenty-three  hundred  had  been  employed  there 
before  the  recent  removals.  Two  kinds  of  workmen, 
he  said,  had  been  engaged :  ( i )  those  working  under  the 
direction  of  the  Workmen's  Society — a  society  that  had 
taken  over  the  complete  organization  of  the  work  and 
was  paying  the  men  from  42  to  56  cents  per  day  on  the 
piece-work  basis;  (2)  those  who,  having  refused  to  join 
this  society,  were  under  no  discipline  and  were,  conse- 
quently, earning  only  35  cents  per  day  on  a  daily  wage 
basis.  The  second  group  of  workmen,  he  said,  were 
informed  that  the  daily  wage  system  would  be  discon- 
tinued. It  was  proposed  that  those  among  them  who 
were  married  and  residents  of  Berlin  should  join  the 
Workmen's  Society  and  be  given  work  on  the  piece 
basis.  The  unmarried  were  to  be  employed  on  excava- 
tions on  the  Eastern  Railway.  Those  who  refused  to 
accept  piece  work  were  to  be  employed  on  the  daily 
wage  basis  at  some  other  place.  When  the  men  of  the 
second  group,  according  to  Milde,  heard  of  this  plan, 
they  attacked  those  of  the  first.  In  concluding  his  speech, 
Milde  again  called  attention  to  the  duty  of  the  local 
authorities  to  provide  work  for  the  unemployed.  The 
state,  he  said,  was  not  obliged  to  give  employment  to 
the  unemployed  of  a  particular  locality  at  the  expense 
of  the  tax-payers  of  the  whole  monarchy.  In  the  con- 
struction of  public  works,  the  state,  he  said,  had  to 
keep  in  mind  the  benefit  accruing  to  all  of  its  citizens.  ** 
In  regard  to  taxation,  the  Minister  of  Finance,  in 
answering  an  interpellation  relative  to  the  possibility  of 
abolishing  by  January  i,  1849,  the  tax  on  the  slaughter- 

**Ste7Mgr.  Berichte,  I,  357-358. 


;6  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

ing  of  cattle  and  on  the  grinding  of  grain,  and  the  class 
tax,  evaded  the  question  by  saying  that  in  the  course  of 
the  next  few  weeks  financial  projects  would  be  pre- 
sented to  the  National  Assembly  bearing  on  the  with- 
drawal of  the  exemption  of  certain  persons  from  pay- 
ing the  class  tax.  Accordingly,  on  July  loth,  the  draft 
of  a  law  was  submitted  withdrawing  the  exemption  of 
clergymen,  school  teachers,  and  military  officials,  *^  But 
as  this  measure  did  not  express  the  wish  of  the  Assembly, 
a  motion  to  abolish  the  three  taxes  just  referred  to, 
and  to  substitute  an  income  tax  on  January  i,  1849, 
was  introduced  on  July  21st.  On  October  20th,  the 
draft  of  an  income  tax  was  submitted.  According  to 
this  draft,  all  incomes  of  Prussians  living  in  Prussia, 
and  of  those  with  an  income  of  $300  living  in  a  foreign 
country,  as  well  as  the  incomes  of  foreigners  owning 
land  in  Prussia,  or  living  in  Prussia  more  than  six 
months,  were  declared  taxable.  The  only  persons  ex- 
empt were  those  too  poor  to  contribute  toward  the  ex- 
penditure of  the  local  administrative  units.  Incomes 
were  divided  into  13  classes.  The  first  comprised  in- 
comes of  $7,500  and  over,  the  last,  incomes  below  $18.75. 
The  rate  of  taxation  varied  from  20  per  cent,  in  the  first 
class  to  one-half  of  one  per  cent,  in  the  last.  Further- 
more, incomes  derived  from  investments  were  subject 
to  the  full  rate,  while  those  derived  from  trades,  or  ob- 
tained in  the  form  of  salaries  and  pensions  were  taxable 
only  to  two-thirds  of  the  full  rate.  The  Prussian  Na- 
tional Assembly  approved  this  draft  and  referred  it  to 
the  Minister  of  Finance.  But  before  he  could  take  steps 
to  have  it  proclaimed  as  law,  reaction  had  set  in,  and 
the  National  Assembly  was  dissolved.  *' 
«jb«.,  I,  493. 

*^Ibid.,   I,    547;    III,    1693.      November    8th   the    king   transferred   the 
National  Assembly  to  Brandenberg.     On  December  5th  he  dissolved  it. 


RESPONSE  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  yy 

In  compliance  with  the  numerous  petitions  demanding 
the  abolition  of  industrial  freedom  and  the  amendment  of 
the  Industrial  Law  of  1845,  ^  number  of  motions  with 
this  end  in  view  were  made,  and  the  draft  of  a  "Pro- 
visional Industrial  Law"  "  to  become  effective  January 
I,  1849,  was  submitted.  This  draft  provided  for  the 
abolition  of  itinerant  trades  and  for  the  prohibition  of 
engaging  in  more  than  one  craft  at  one  time.  It  re- 
stricted the  privilege  of  making  articles  of  trade  to  those 
who  had  actually  learned  the  craft,  and  the  right  of 
establishing  stores  to  guild-masters.  No  craftsman  was 
to  be  allowed  to  open  more  than  one  store.  State  and 
municipal  work  was  not  to  be  given  to  contractors,  but 
to  the  master-craftsmen  properly  qualified  to  do  it. 
Guilds  were  to  be  encouraged  in  every  way.  The  old 
ones  were  to  remain,  those  dissolved  were  to  be  re- 
stored, and  Zunftswang  was  to  be  re-introduced.  Admit- 
tance to  guilds  was  to  be  granted  only  after  the  candidate 
had  acquired  burghership,  was  twenty-five  years  old, 
had  spent  three  years  on  the  Wanderschaft,  had  passed 
an  examination,  and  had  paid  a  moderate  initiation  fee. 
Only  master-craftsmen  independently  engaged  in  their 
crafts  were  to  employ  apprentices,  and  to  vote  and  hold 
office  in  the  guild.  Factory-owners  were  to  be  denied 
the  right  of  employing  apprentices.     The  term  of  train- 

•^This  law  was  called  "provisional"  because  it  was  to  be  enforced  only 
until  the  National  Parliament  of  Frankfurt  proclaimed  a  general  in- 
dustrial law  for  the  whole  of  Germany.  The  VorparJaraent  and  the  Com- 
mittee of  Fifty  had  already  discussed  the  industrial  situation.  The  atten- 
tion of  the  Frankfurt  Parliament  was  called  to  this  question  especially  by 
the  Congress  of  Master-craftsmen  and  the  Congress  of  Journeymen  conven- 
ing in  Frankfurt  in  July,  1848.  The  former  was  opposed  to  industrial 
freedom,  the  latter  favored  only  a  slight  modification.  Both  Congresses 
submitted  drafts  of  an  industrial  law  to  the  Parliament  of  Frankfurt  for 
consideration.  On  Febrtiary  26,  1849,  the  Committee  on  Economic  Affairs 
of  the  Frankfurt  Parliament  reported  that  it  could  not  agree  on  a  uniform 
industrial  law.  {Terhandlungen  d.  deutsch.  Parlaments,  Iste  Lieferung, 
174;  2te  Lieferung,  523.  Entwurf  eimer  AUg.  Handwerker-  und  Gewerbe- 
Ordnung  f.  Deutschland,  passim.  Mittheilv/ngen  d.  Central-Yereins,  1848- 
49,  210  ff.  Terh.  d.  deutsch.  verfassvmgsgebenden  BeichsversamnUung,  II, 
829  ff.  890). 


78  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

ing  for  an  apprentice  was  to  vary  from  three  to  five 
years.  Before  becoming  a  journeyman,  an  apprentice 
was  to  submit  to  an  examination  before  the  guild.  Fur- 
thermore, every  unmarried  journeyman  was  to  be  obliged 
to  eat  and  live  with  his  master.  All  other  matters  were 
to  be  regulated  by  the  Industrial  Law  of  1845.  ^^^ 
National  Assembly  referred  this  draft  to  its  special  Com- 
mittee on  Industry  and  Commerce.  But  before  the  com- 
mittee could  report,  the  Assembly  was  dissolved.  ** 

One  of  the  last  questions  discussed  by  the  Assembly 
dealt  with  the  truck  system.  On  October  25th,  the  king 
submitted  the  draft  of  a  law  abolishing  this  practice. 
He  thereby  acceded  to  a  request  made  by  the  Provincial 
Diet  of  the  Rhine  Province  as  early  as  1843. "  ^^^ 
Assembly  promptly  referred  the  draft  to  its  Committee 
on  Industry  and  Commerce,  but  was  prevented  by  the 
order  of  dissolution  from  taking  final  action.  ^° 

Although  the  question  concerning  the  Provisional  In- 
dustrial Law  could  not  be  reported  by  the  committee 
because  of  the  dissolution  of  the  National  Assembly,  the 
government,  in  view  of  the  antagonism  to  the  Industrial 
Law  of  1845,  could  not  ignore  the  issue.  Accordingly, 
von  der  Heydt,  the  new  Minister  of  Commerce,  Industry, 
and  Public  Works,  requested  the  craftsmen  to  send  rep- 
resentatives to  Berlin  to  discuss  with  him  the  industrial 
situation.  The  result  of  this  conference  was  the  law  of 
February  9,  1849.  I'^^^s  law  re-introduced  the  Zunft- 
zwang  for  seventy  crafts,  legalized  the  prohibition  of 
the  simultaneous  pursuit  of  several  crafts,  restricted  the 
freedom  of  opening  stores,  curtailed  the  right  of  man- 
ufacturers to  employ  journeymen,  contracted  the  trade 

*»Stenogr.  BericMe,  I,  152,  301,  509;  III,  1777-1778. 
^  Nanwerck,  K.,  Haivptergehnisse  d.  Landtags-Abschiede,  32-33. 
^Stenogr.   Berichte,   III,    1779.     Anton,   K.,    Gesch.   d.   preuss.  Fairik- 
gesetzgebung,   154. 


RESPONSE  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  79 

at  markets,  and  made  the  master's  examination  in  the 
presence  of  the  guild  obligatory.  °^  A  new  feature  was 
introduced  when  Trades  Councils  were  established,  con- 
sisting of  employers  and  employees  of  the  crafts,  the 
factories,  and  the  commercial  interests.  The  members 
of  these  councils  were  elected  by  the  employers  and 
by  the  employees  of  each  group,  and  served  without  com- 
pensation. It  was  the  duty  of  these  councils  to  discuss 
questions  relative  to  the  progress  of  crafts  and  factories, 
and  to  ascertain  whether  the  new  regulations  concerning 
guilds  were  being  observed.  ^^ 

Another  law  of  the  same  date  provided  for  the  insti- 
tution of  District  Industrial  Courts  to  deal  with  dis- 
putes arising  between  employers  and  employees.  These 
courts,  consisting  of  employers  and  employees,  were 
elected  by  the  several  groups  in  each  district.  Members 
served  without  compensation,  although  the  representa- 
tives of  the  employers  might  be  paid  for  their  services.  °^ 

Thus,  in  1849,  the  industrial  freedom  of  the  L,aw  of 
1845  was  curtailed,  and  those  features  of  the  Prussian 
Code  of  1794  whereby  the  guilds  controlled  the  choice  of 
occupation,  the  method  of  production,  and  the  manner 
of  retailing,  were  re-introduced. 

»P.  e.  8.  1849,  p.  98,  §  23  fP. 
M/fttd.,  1849,  p.   93,  §§   1-22. 
"Iftid.,  1849,  p.  110,  §§  1-13. 


CONCI.USION 

The  evolution  of  industrial  freedom  in  Prussia  shows 
a  gradual  development  from  the  resolution  of  the  Impe- 
rial Diet  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  to  reform  the 
guilds  (1731)  to  the  re-introduction  of  restrictive  indus- 
trial measures  in  1849.  In  the  course  of  this  develop- 
ment, the  Prussian  Code  of  1794  marked  the  advance 
to  a  system  of  industry  still  mediaeval  in  character. 
Under  Stein  and  Hardenberg,  however,  this  restrictive 
system  gave  way  to  complete  industrial  freedom.  At 
first  introduced  only  into  the  remnant  of  Prussia  left 
to  Frederick  William  III  by  Napoleon,  this  freedom 
was,  ultimately,  extended  by  the  Industrial  Law  of  1845 
to  the  provinces  acquired  at  the  Congress  of  Vienna. 

Advanced  as  this  new  system  was,  it,  nevertheless, 
met  with  a  great  deal  of  opposition.  The  chief  objec- 
tion came  from  the  master-craftsmen.  Owing  to  the 
increase  of  competition,  the  high  cost  of  subsistence, 
and  the  contraction  of  credit  between  1845  ^^'^  1849, 
these  craftsmen  suffered  greatly.  Many  of  them  failed 
in  business  and  were  obliged  to  seek  employment  as  day- 
laborers.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  while 
favoring  the  introduction  of  free  political  institutions, 
they  opposed  the  retention  of  industrial  freedom.  In 
their  opinion,  this  freedom  was  the  cause  of  their  mis- 
fortune. In  view  of  their  opposition,  the  government, 
mindful  of  the  March  Revolution,  took  steps  to  remove 
the  cause  of  their  grievance.  The  result  was  a  return  in 
1849  to  a  guild  system  practically  identical  with  that 
of  the  Prussian  Code  of  1794. 


CONCLUSION  8l 

But  the  restrictive  industrial  laws  of  1849  favored 
the  interests  of  only  a  small  part  of  the  industrial  pop- 
ulation of  Prussia.  The  demands  of  the  journeymen  that 
industrial  freedom  be  only  slightly  modified  were  ig- 
nored. Although  their  interests  were  best  served  by  a 
system  that  freed  them  from  the  monopolistic  control  of 
the  guilds,  and  enabled  them  to  engage  in  as  many  dif- 
ferent crafts  as  their  ability  permitted,  they  were  again 
subjected  to  the  specialization  of  craft-guild  production. 
Apprentices  also  had  to  submit  to  restrictions  in  favor 
of  the  guilds.  Perhaps  the  absence  of  any  noticeable 
participation  on  their  part  in  the  industrial  movement  of 
1845  to  1849  is  due  to  the  fact  that  they  were  too  young 
to  exert  a  definite  influence.  Similarly,  factory  employees 
and  day-laborers,  although  three  times  as  numerous  as 
master-craftsmen,  were  not  sufficiently  organized  to 
make  their  demands  effective,  and,  consequently,  received 
scant  recognition  in  the  legislation  of  1849. 

The  large  manufacturers  seem  to  have  concerned 
themselves  very  little  with  the  question  of  industrial 
freedom.  Perhaps  their  lack  of  interest  is  to  be  ascribed 
to  the  realization  of  the  fact  that  any  modification  of 
the  industrial  system  that  discouraged  large  scale  pro- 
duction would  be  only  temporary. 

So  far  as  the  chief  features  of  industrial  freedom  are 
concerned,  they  are  to  be  found  in  the  removal  of  the 
restrictions  of  the  guilds  upon  the  choice  of  occupation, 
the  methods  of  production,  and  the  manner  of  retailing. 
The  subjection,  in  1849,  o^  these  important  factors  of 
industrial  progress  to  guild  control  abolished  industrial 
freedom  and  re-introduced  the  restrictive  system  of  the 
eighteenth  century. 


ABBREVIATIONS 


Allg.  Ztg.  (A.)- 

A.  h.  R.— 

B.  Gbl.— 
Central-Bl. — 
Jhb.  G.  V.  v.— 


Min.-Bl.— 
P.  G.  S.— 

R.  Gbl— 
Schles.  Ztg. — 
St.  sw.  Fgn. — 

Verb.  d.  V.  z.  Bef.  d.  Gfl. 


Allgemeine  Zeitung  (Augs- 
burg). 

Allegemeines  L,andrecht. 

Bundes-Gesetzblatt. 

Central-Blatt. 

Jahrbuch  f  u  e  r  Gesetzge- 
bung,  Verwaltung  und 
V  o  1  k  s  w  i  rthschaft  im 
Deutschen  Reich. 

Ministerial-Blatt. 

Gesetz-Sammlung  (Preus- 
sische). 

Reichs-Gesetzblatt. 

Schlesische  Zeitung 

Staats-  und  socialwissen- 
schaftliche  Forschungen. 

Verhandlungen  des  Vereins 
Zur  Befoerderung  des 
G^werbefleisses  in  Preus- 
sen. 


BIBUOGRAPHY 

It  seemed  advisable  to  classify  the  bibliographical 
material  as  contemporary  and  non-contemporary,  instead 
of  following  the  common  practice  of  distinguishing  be- 
tween sources  and  secondary  works.  "Contemporary" 
is  construed  to  mean  the  period  from  1845  to  1849. 

"Source  material"  may  be  defined  as  material  basic 
for  the  determination  of  facts.  By  applying  this  defini- 
tion to  the  contents  of  the  works  listed  below,  their 
character,  according  to  the  current  method  of  classifica- 
tion, can  readily  be  determined. 

I.    CONTEMPORARY  MATERIAL 

A.    Officiai, 

I.     Government  Documents   Officially  Published 

Gesetz-Sammlung  fuer  die  Koeniglichen  Preussischen 
Staaten.    Berlin,  1806-49. 
A  collection  of  laws,  cabinet  orders,  treaties,  and  budgets. 

Amts-Blatt  der  Koeniglichen  Regierung  zu  Potsdam 

und  der  Stadt  Berlin.    Berlin,  1845-59. 

Contains  decrees,  orders,  and  statistics  relative  to  the  admin- 
istration of  Berlin  and  Potsdam. 

Central-Blatt  der  Abgaben-,  Gewerbe-  und  Handelsge- 
setzgebung  und  Verwaltung  in  den  Koeniglichen  Preus- 
sischen Staaten.    Berlin,  1845-49. 

A  collection  of  regulations,  treaties,  and  statistics  pertain- 
ing to  taxation,  industry,  and  commerce. 

Ministerial-Blatt  fuer  die  gesamte  innere  Verwaltung 
in  den  Koeniglichen  Preussischen  Staaten.  Berlin, 
1846-48. 

The  official  organ  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior. 


84  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

Verhandlungen  des  neunten  Provinzial-Landtages  im 

Herzogthum  Pommern  und  Fuerstenthum  Ruegen,  ange- 

fangen  zu  Stettin  den  9  Februar  1845,  geschlossen  den 

16  Maerz   1845,    nebst    der    allerhoechsten    Landtags- 

Abschiede,  d.d.  Berlin  den  27  Dezember,  1845.     Stettin, 

1846. 

Contains  the  royal  propositions,  memorials  of  the  Estates  to 
those  propositions  and  to  their  own  petitions,  and  the  grants 
of  the  king. 

Der  erste  Vereinigte  Landtag  in  Berlin  1847.  Heraus- 
gegeben  unter  Aufsicht  des  Vorstehers  des  Central- 
Bureaus  im  Ministerium  des  Innern  und  des  Bureaus 
des  Vereinigten  Landtags  Koeniglichen  Kanzlei  Raths 
Eduard  Bleich. — Mit  einem  geographisch  statistischen 
Tableau :  Preussens  Erster  Vereinigte  Landtag.  Nach 
amtlichen  Quellen  bearbeitet  von  Hauptmann  C.v.  Stock- 
hausen.    4  vols.    Berlin,  1847. 

A  collection  of  documents  and  stenographic  reports. 

Stenographische  Berichte  ueber  die  Verhandlungen  der 

zur  Vereinbarung  der    preussischen    Staats-Verfassung 

berufenen  Versammlung.     3  vols.     Berlin,  1848. 

These  reports  were  published  as  supplements  to  the  "Preus- 
sischer  Staats-Anzeiger,"  the  official  government  gazette. 

Verhandlungen  des  Deutschen  Parlaments.  Officielle 
Ausgabe.  Mit  einer  geschichtlichen  Einleitung  ueber  die 
Entstehung  der  Vertretung  des  ganzen  deutschen  Volkes. 
2  vols.    Frankfurt  a.M.,  1848. 

"Erste   Lieferung"  contains: 

"Verzeichnis  der  Mitglieder  des  vorberathenden  Parlaments, 
des  fuenfziger  Ausschusses,  und  der  XVII  Vertrauensmaenner 
am  Bundestag ;  Verhandlungen  des  vorberathenden  Parlaments ; 
Namentliche  Abstimmung;  Zusammenstellung  der  Beschluesse." 

"Zweite  Lieferung"  contains : 

"Die  Verhandlungen  des  fuenfziger  Ausschusses,  der  Bundes- 
versammlung  und  der  XVII  Vertrauensmaenner,  bis  zum  Zusam- 
mentritt  der   constituirenden   deutschen   Nationalversammlung." 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  85 

"Bericht  ueber  die  Wirksamkeit  des  Fuenfziger  Aus- 
schusses,  1848." 

This  is  the  official  report  of  the  Committee  of  Fifty  and  its 
various  sub-committees.  The  circumstances  leading  to  the  draft- 
ing of  this  report  are  given  as  follows:  "In  der  Sitzung  vom 
I  Mai  beschloss  der  Ausschuss  einen  Bericht  ueber  seine  Wirk- 
samkeit durch  eine  Commission  ausarbeiten  zu  lassen,  damit  der 
constituirenden  Nationalversammlung  .  .  .  ein  uebersicht- 
liches  Bild  des  Geschehenen,    .     .     .    vorgelegt  werden  koenne." 

This  report  is  one  of  the  pamphlets  of  the  "HohenzoUern 
Collection  of  Pamphlets"  at  Harvard  University. 

Stenographischer  Bericht  ueber  die  Verhandlungen 
der  deutschen  constituirenden  Nationalversammlung  zu 
Frankfurt  am  Main.  Herausgegeben  auf  Beschluss  der 
Nationalversammlung  durch  die  Redactions-Commission 
imd  in  deren  Auftrag  von  Professor  Franz  Wigard.  9 
vols.  I^eipzic  and  Frankfurt  a.M.,  1848-49. 
A  complete  report  of  the  proceedings. 

Vefhandlungen  der  deutschen  verfassunggebenden 
Reichsversammlung  zu  Frankfurt  am  Main.  Herausge- 
geben auf  Beschluss  der  Nationalversammlung  durch  die 
Redactions-Commission  und  in  deren  Auftrag  von  dem 
Abgeordneten  Professor  Dr.  K.  D.  Haszler.  6  vols. 
Frankfurt  a.M.,  1848-49. 

Contains  protocols  and  reports  of  committees. 

Mittheilungen  des  statistischen  Bureaus  in  Berlin.    8 

ter  Jahrgang.     Herausgegeben  von  C.  F.  W.  Dieterici, 

Berlin,  1855. 

Valuable  for  its  tables  showing  variations  in  food  prices 
from  1816-54. 

Tabellen  und  amtliche  Nachrichten  ueber  den  preus- 
sischen  Staat  fuer  das  Jahr  1849.  Herausgegeben  von 
dem   statistischen  Bureau  zu   Berlin.     6  vols.     Berlin, 

1851-55- 
Vols.  4-6  treat  especially  of  commerce  and  industry. 


86  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

Zeitschrift  des  Koeniglich  Preussischen  Statistischen 

Bureaus.    Redigirt  von  dessen  Direktor,  Dr.  Ernst  Engel. 

Erster  Jahrgang.    Berlin,  1861. 

Contains  valuable  tables  on  all  phases  of  Prussian  life  begin- 
ning with  1816.    It  is  the  official  organ  of  the  bureau. 

2.     Government  Documents  Privately  Edited 

Bleich,  E., — Verhandlungen  des  zum  2  April  1848 
zusammenberufenen  Vereinigten  Landtags.    Berlin,  1848. 

A  collection  of  stenographic  reports,  documents,  and  laws 
resulting  from  the  deliberations  of  the  Landtag.  The  compiler 
was  "Koeniglicher-Kanzlei  Rath  und  Bureau-Vorsteher  beim 
Vereinigten  Landtage." 

Bleich,  E., — ^Verhandlungen  des  im  Jahre  1848  zusam- 
menberufenen Vereinigten  Staendischen  Ausschusses.  4 
vols.    Berlin,  1848. 

A  report  of  the  proceedings. 

The  Committee  dealt  only  with  the  new  penal  code. 

Brandenburg,  Erich, — Koenig  Friedrich  Wilhelms  IV 
Briefwechsel  mit  Ludolf  Camphausen.     Berlin,  1906. 

Contains  the  correspondence  between  March  28,  1848,  and 
Jan.  17,  1850. 

Koch,  C.  F., — Allgemeines  Landrecht  fuer  die  Preus- 
sischen Staaten.     4  vols.     Berlin  and  Leipzic,  1886. 

A  complete  copy  of  the  Prussian  Common  Law  of  1794.  The 
paragraphs  in  force  in  1886  form  the  main  part  of  the  book; 
the  obsolete  paragraphs  are  added  as  footnotes. 

Roenne,  Ludwig  v., — Die  Gewerbe-Polizei  des  Preus- 
sischen Staates.    2  vols.    Breslau,  185 1. 

A  collection  of  industrial  laws  with  comments.  These  vol- 
umes form  a  part  of  Part  VII  of  the  author's  "Die  Verfassung 
und  Verwaltung  des  Preussischen  Staates." 

3.    Publications  of  Private  Organizations 

"An  alle  gross jaehrigen  Arbeiter,  als  da  sind  Gesellen, 
Haushaelter,  Tageloehner  und  allerhand  ehrliche  Leute. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  87 

Breslau,  den  23  April,  1848."     Ansorge    Collection    of 
Pamphlets  No.  132.     (Harvard  University.) 

This  is  an  appeal  to  the  workingmen  of  Breslau  to  vote  for 
certain  men  to  represent  them  in  Berlin  and  Frankfurt  a.M. 
It  is  signed:  "Der  Arb^iter-Verein.  In  seinem  Auftrage  der 
Vorstand." 

Central-Blatt  fuer  die  Kundgebungen  des  patriotischen 
Vereins  zu  Berlin  und  die  mit  demselben  verbtindenen 
Zweig  und  verwandten  Vereine  in  den  Provinzen.  Ber- 
lin, July  6,  1848 — April  11,  1850. 

After  Jan.  i,  1849,  the  name  was  changed  to  "Central-Blatt 
der  verbundenen  monarchisch-constitutionellen  Vereine,  heraus- 
gegeben  vom  patriotischen  Vereine  zu  Berlin." 

It  is  the  official  organ  of  the  constitutional-monarchists.  The 
accounts  of  the  "Arbeiter-Excesse"  reflect  their  attitude  toward 
the  Revolution. 

Die  Forderungen  des  Gewerbestandes  in  Deutschland. 
Eine  Denkschrift  an  den  deutschen  Reichstag  in  Frank- 
furt a.  M.  Von  dem  Gewerbeverein  in  Heidelberg  und 
Genossen.     Heidelberg,  1848. 

It  is  opposed  to  industrial  freedom  for  Germany. 

Entwurf  einer  allgemeinen  Handwerker-  und  Gewerbe- 

Ordnung  fuer  Deutschland.     Berathen  und  beschlossen 

von  dem  deutschen  Handwerker  und  Gewerbe-Congress 

zu  Frankfurt  a.  M.  in  den  Monaten  Juli  und  August 

1848. 

The  preface  contains  a  protest  against  industrial  freedom, 
and  a  demand  that  it  be  abolished. 

Mittheilungen  des  Centralvereins  fuer  das  Wohl  der 
arbeitenden  Klassen.  Erster  und  zweiter  Jahrgang.  Ber- 
lin, 1848-50. 

The  official  organ  of  an  organization  devoted  to  the  welfare 
of  the  proletariat. 

The  purpose  of  this  publication  is  given  as  follows :  "Die 
Mittheilungen  etc.  haben  den  Zweck,  Licht  ueber  die  ihm  vor- 
liegende  grosse  Aufgabe  zu  verbreiten,  die  Stimmen  ueber  ihre 
Loesung  zu  sammeln,  Nachricht  ueber  gelungene  oder  doch  mit 


88  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

Aussicht  auf  Gelingen  versuchte  Veranstaltungen  in  diesem  Be- 
reiche  zu  geben,  entlich  ueber  die  Wirksamkeit  unseres  Vereins 
und  die  mit  ihm  in  Verbindung  stehenden  Vereine  aus  dem 
ganzen  deutschen  Vaterlande  zu  berichten." 

Verhandlungen  des  Vereins  zur  Befoederung  des  Ge- 
werbefleisses  in  Preussen.     Berlin,  1845-49. 

It  contains  the  minutes  of  the  meetings,  and  articles  and 
drawings  illustrating  the  latest  inventions  and  the  newest  meth- 
ods of  manufacture. 

"Beleuchtung    der    Gewerbegestze    vom    7    Februar, 

1849."     Ansorge    Collection    of    Pamphlets    No.    118. 

(Harvard  University.) 

It  is  signed  by  "Die  Commission  der  Gesellen  und  der  demo- 
kratisch-sociale  Arbeiter-Verein,"  and  expresses  the  dissatis- 
faction of  journejmien  and  workmen  with  the  laws  of  Feb.  7, 
1849,  because  these  laws  favor  the  "Handwerker"  to  the  detri- 
ment of  journeymen  and  factory  employees. 

"Kreis   Handwerkerverein   zu   Gross   Glogau,    1849." 

Ansorge  Collection  of  Pamphlets  No.  102. 

This  pamphlet  contains  the  constitution  and  by-laws  of  the 
organization. 

B.    Non-Officiai. 

I.    Newspapers 

Allgemeine  Zeitung.   (Augsburg).     1845-49. 

A  liberal  newspaper  with  a  reliable  correspondent  in  Berlin. 

Breslauer  Zeitung.     1848. 
A  liberal  newspaper  of  eastern  Prussia. 

Deutsche  Gewerbe-Zeitung  und  Saechsisches  Gewerbe- 
Blatt.    1845-49. 

A  semi-weekly  paper  published  in  Leipzic,  devoted  to  the 
industrial  advancement  of  Germany.  Its  policy  is  stated  as 
follows : 

"Die  Aufgabe,  w.  bei  unsem  Bestrebungen  sich  alle  andem 
unterordnen  muessen,  ist  und  wird  d.  sein,  was  in  unsern  Kraef- 
ten  steht,   dazu  beizutragen,  dass  unser  Vaterland,  *  *  *  unter 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  89 

d.  Staaten  d.  Erde,  in  d.  Wettkampfe  d.  Gegenwart  u.  naechsten 
Zukunft  nach  d.  geistigen  u.  materiellen  Guetern,  w.  d.  Mensch- 
heit  ihrer  Bestimmung  naeher  fuehren,  d.  seiner  wuerdige 
Stellung  einnehmen,  dass  d.  deutsche  Volk,  erloest  v.  d.  laehmen- 
den  Drucke  d.  Mundlosigkeit,  zum  Bewusstsein  u.  Gefuehl  seiner 
Kraft  erwache,  u.  seine  innere  u.  aeussere  Wuerde  durch  d. 
thatsaechl.  Beweis  seiner  Reife  u.  Selbstaendigkeit  wahre  u. 
schirme." 

Kladderadatsch.     (Berlin),  1848-49. 

An  illustrated  comic  weekly  with  national-liberal  tendencies. 
It  was  established  May  7,  1848. 

Schlesische  Zeitung.     (Breslau),  1848. 
A  liberal  daily. 

Weser-Zeitung.     (Bremen),  1847-48. 
Liberal. 

Zeitungshalle.     (Berlin),  May  23,  1848. 

A  radical  democratic  daily  espousing  the  cause  of  the  work- 
ingman. 

2.    Periodicals 

Archiv  der  politischen  Oekonomie  und  Polizeiwissen- 
schaft : 

C.  G.  Kries, — "Ueber  die  Mahl  und  Schlachtsteuer, 

die  Einkommen-  und  Klassen-Steuer  in  Preussen."  Neue 

Folge,  vol.  8,  Heidelberg,  1849. 

A  discussion  of  the  difficulties  involved  in  introducing  an  in- 
come tax. 

Archiv  fuer  vaterlaendische  Interessen,  oder  Preuss. 
Provinzial-Blaetter.  Herausgegeben  v.  O.  W.  L.  Rich- 
ter,  Marienwerder,  1845. 

Contains  articles  on  climatic  conditions  in  eastern  Prussia. 

F.  G.  Schulze, — "Die  Arbeiterfrage  nach  den  Grund- 
saetzen  der  deutschen  Nationaloekonomie,  mit  Beziehung 
auf  die  aus  Frankreich  nach  Deutschland  verpflanzten 
Systeme  des  Feudalismus,  Merkantilismus,  Physiokratis- 


90 


INDUSTRIAL   FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 


mus,  Socialismus,  Communismus  und  Republikanismus," 
in  Deutsche  Blaetter  fuer  Landwirthschaft,  Nationaloek- 
onomie  und  Politik,  vol.  2,  Heft  1-2.    Jena,  1849. 
A  scholarly  discussion. 

Deutsche  Vierteljahrschrift: 

(i)     "Gedanken  zur  Begruendung  einer  neuen  Ver- 
fassung  des  Gewerbewesens."    3tes  Heft.  Stuttgart,  1847. 
A  discussion  of  the  principle?  of  a  new  industrial  law.    Favors 
freedom. 

(2)  "Versuch  ueber  die  MoegUchkeit  und  die  geeig- 
neten  Mittel  einer  Abhuelfe  der  Theuerung  und  Hungers- 
noth."    4tes  Heft.     Stuttgart,  1847. 

A  discussion  of  causes,  development  and  relief. 

(3)  "Das  Vorparlament  in  Frankfurt."  2tes  Heft. 
Stuttgart,  1848. 

An  objective  account. 

lUustrirte  Zeitung.      (Leipzic).     "Das    Zunftwesen." 
Jan.  9,  Feb.  6,  and  20,  1847. 
An  illustrated  description  of  guild  customs. 

Rheinische  Jahrbuecher  zur  gesellschaftlichen  Reform, 
herausgegeben  unter  Mitwirkung  v,  Hermann  Puett- 
mann.    vols.  1-2.    Darmstadt,  1845-46. 

Contain  articles  on  social  conditions. 

Zeitschrift  des  Vereins  fuer  deutsche  Statistik,  heraus- 
gegeben V.  Dr.  Freiherr  v.  Reden.    2  vols.    Berlin,  1847- 

48. 

An  invaluable  collection  of  essays  on  the  agricultural,  com- 
mercial and  industrial  situation. 

3,     Pamphlets 

(a)     Ansorge  Collection.     (Harvard  University). 

"Aufruf  an  alle  Gesellen  Breslaus."    No.  50.    Breslau, 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  91 

An  appeal  to  all  journes^nen  of  Breslau  to  stand  by  the 
agreement  regarding  an  industrial  law  made  with  the  master- 
workmen  at  Frankfurt  a.  M. 

"Gesellen,  Brueder !"    No.  75.    Breslau,  1848. 

A  pamphlet  issued  by  the  "Gesellen"  of  Breslau  objecting 
to  the  committee  of  the  "Handwerkerverein"  sent  to  von  der 
Heydt,  Prussian  Minister  of  Industry  and  Commerce. 


(b)      Hohenzollern  Collection  {Harvard  University) 

"Hauptergebnisse  der  Landtags-Abschiede  in  Preus- 
sen,  1841,  1843,  1845."  Uebersichtlich  von  Karl  Nau- 
werck.    Berlin,  1846. 

A  calendar  of  motions. 

"Die  Zustaende  Berlins  seit  dem  i8ten  Maerz  1848." 

Berlin,  1848. 

An  appeal  not  to  proceed  to  destruction,  but  to  remain  within 
the  limits  of  civil  liberty. 

"Hochw^ichtiges    der    Gegenwart   in    Sieben   Bildem 

betreffend  die  gegenwaertigen  gedrueckten  Verhaeltnisse 

des  Mittelstandes,  naemlich:  der  Handwerker  und  Ar- 

beiter,  so  wie  des  Handels  und  aller  Gewerbe  in  Deutsch- 

land  und  wie  diesem   wichtigen   Stand  des   deutschen 

Volks  geholfen  werden  kann,  zusammengestellt  und  vor- 

getragen  von  Einem  Mitglied  des  Gev^rerbe-Vereins  zu 

Dresden."    Dresden  and  Leipzic,  1848. 

Advises  workingmen  not  to  expect  too  much  from  present 
disturbances. 

"Offene  Darlegung  der  Gefahren,  welche  mit  den  vor- 
geschlagenen  kuenstlichen  Finanz-Operationen,  dem  Mo- 
bilmachen  der  Capitalien  verbunden  sind,  und  der  Prin- 
zipien  nach  denen  der  Kampf  zwischen  Arbeit  und 
Capital  zu  beurtheilen  und  zu  loesen  sei."    Berlin,  1848. 

Recognizes  social   principles  as  primary. 


92 


INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 


"Thatsachen  der  Gegenvvart,  insbesondere  Judenver- 

folgungen  und  Excesse  gegen  Guts-  und  Fabrikherren, 

erklaert  durch  Thatsachen  der  Vergangenheit  nebst  emi- 

gen  Vorschlaegen  zur  Heilung  socialer  Nebel  fuer  die 

Zukunft,  von  einem  Kopfarbeiter."    Berlin,  1848. 

The  author  regards  the  formation  of  trade  organizations, 
without  any  modification  of  industrial  freedom,  as  a  possible 
means  of  helping  the  workingman. 

"Zur  Preussischen  Verfassungsfrage."     Berlin,  1848. 

Insists  that  present  disturbances  are  primarily  social  in  char- 
acter and  only  secondarily  political.  It  requests  that  workmen 
be  given  the  right  to  form  associations. 

4.    Diary 

Varnhagen  v.  Ense,  K.  A.,  Tagebuecher,  14  vols.  Leip- 

zic,  Zuerich  and  Hamburg,  1861-70. 

Vols.  3-6  cover  period  1845-49.  Von  Ense  was  well  informed. 
He  was  a  constitutional-monarchist  and  Berlin  correspondent  of 
the  Allgemeine  Zeitung  (Augsburg).  His  Diary  is  full  of  intelli- 
gent opinions  on  current  events. 

5     Special  Studies 

Stimer,  Max — Der  Einzige  und  sein  Eigenthum,  Leip- 
zic,  1845. 
Advocates  social  liberalism. 

Dieterici,  C.  F.  W. — Der  Volkswohlstand  im  Preuss. 
Staat.  In  Vergleichung  aus  den  Jahren  vor  1806  und 
von  1828  bis  1832,  so  wie  aus  der  neuesten  Zeit,  nach 
statistischen  Ermittelungen  und  dem  Gauge  der  Gesetzge- 
bung  aus  amtlichen  Quellen  dargestellt.    Berlin,  1846. 

Describes  conditions  in  Prussia  before  and  after  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Customs  Union  to  1845  inclusive.  Dieterici  was 
director  of  the  Statistical  Bureau  in  Berlin. 

Biedermann,     Karl — Geschichte    des    ersten    preuss. 
Reichstags.    Leipzic,  1847. 
An  objective  account  of  the  Landtag,  with  reflections. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  93 

Dieterici,  C.  F.  W. — Ueber    Preussische    Zustaende, 

ueber  Arbeit  und  Kapital.  Ein  politisches  Selbstgespraech 

seinen  lieben  Mitbuergern  gewidmet.    Berlin,  1848. 

An  excellent  resume  of  the  demands  made  by  the  craftsmen 
for  industrial  reform. 

Lasker,  I.  und  Gerhard,  F. — ^Des  deutschen    Volkes 

Erhebung  im  Jahr  1848,  sein  Kampf  um  freie  Institu- 

tionen  und  sein  Siegesjubel. 

An  account  of  the  revolution  by  two  persons  heartily  in  sym- 
pathy with  it. 

"Die  Kartoffeln."  Die  Gegenwart,  vol.  i.  Leipzic, 
1848. 

A  discussion  of  the  potato  blight  of  1845. 

"Die  Gegenwart"  (1848-56)  is  the  annual  supplement  to  Brock- 
haus'  Konversations-Lexikon. 

"Berlin  in  der  Bewegung  von  1848."    Die  (regenwart, 
vol.  2.     Leipzic,  1849. 
An  analysis  of  the  big  issues  involved. 

"Das  deutsche  Vorparlament."     Die  Gegenwart,  vol. 
2.    Leipzic,  1849. 
An  objective  account. 

"Ludolf  Camphausen."    Die  Gegenwart,  vol.  2.    Eeip- 

zic,  1849. 

A  well  written  biography  of  one  of  the  champions  of  liberal- 
ism. 

"Preussen  vor  dem  Februar-Patent  von  1847."     ^^^ 
Gegenwart,  vol.  2.     Eeipzic,  1849. 
A  summary  of  the  leading  facts. 

"Preussen  und  der  Vereinigte  Landtag  im  Jahre  1847." 
Die  Gegenwart,  vol.  3.     Leipzic,  1849. 
A  detailed  account  of  the  Diet. 

Lengerke,  Alex.  V. — Die  laendliche  Arbeiterfrage. 
Beantwortet  durch  d.  bei  d.  Kgl.  Landes-Oeconomie- 
Collegium   aus   alien   Gegenden  d.   preuss.     Monarchic 


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(2j      JcjasUniB^  JEtfLwickiiiii^  n.  AHiriinmii  d.  uen- 
trai-VetcMB  f.  d.  WoM  d.  aibcilcnilai  KhaMn."    i8^ 
PP.85-IS2L 
A  wdi  wiiliBB  aiiide  am  Ac  "Omuiwnciif  fnm  i8m  •» 


Deotsdbc  Viertriljalin  aclinft  z 

(i)    ""iJer   dcntsche   Jmii  mi ifa— b>.**    Vicrtcs   TTril'. 
1851.  pp.  i^4aL 

ilip  is  tf#  to  HeSL 

(2)  *Dtr  Fmpciismns  laid  desseo   Bdacmpfoqg: 
uuiili  cine  HfWfte  Ki^jiJung  der  Ailiciigi  inf mc'II hi fWf . 
I>tilles  Heft    1844,  pp.  ^iStMOl 

Aa  aMenpt  to  look  at  aHdUbas  as  Acgr  arc    Hkt  aoAor 
kficscs  Aatt  it  is  Ac  dalr  of  Ac  sfeUe  to  imiatiJR^tte. 

(3)  "Die  IjtIuUugL  mid  Gcsdkn  dcs  'HaBoimeAs.'' 
Brrics  HcB.    1890^  ppu  314-322. 


BIBUOGSAFHT  95 

It  treats  of  tihe  tmidilioa  o£  ■■■mned  joHnc^HCB  sn  of 
The  amliw^s  poiirt  of  xifcv  is  best  giwB  is  bis 


"Etf  viD  ms  sdbdBaiw  daas  dfe 

QK  ticf cn  StliJcwf  VHScrer  gEsdbohaxDKhai  rimlj^adc, 

kdt  gesdhodkt  bbc;  als  Baa  imlMjniliik  dv  Ncbd 
Grand  nadnqgcheB  sadtt;  ja  Jc  bciduki 
-mr  nad  nadi  don  liafaz  i&|8 
glfi^'li  gBcigBe^  dcB  Mcbel 

(4)  lyic  Ursadben  des  Pjiiprrkmns  nutcr  den 
deotsdicii  HandwaLeiu."  ▼.  AOxtt  Kotdrnmn.  VifCrtes 
Heft,  1850,  pp.  139-167,  and  crstes  Heft,  1851,  pp.  193- 
274. 

The  causes  of  nuupeihin  anoog  czadBsBea  are  said  to  ber 
die  li4itMlw  froHi  sanH  to  taige 
introdnrtioM  of  laise  aHKNiBls  of 
between  t  jpil  jI  and  labor,  and 

This  tiansitiaB  is  desciibcd  in   dil^B     The   wuIb 
uodnstnal  freedom. 

Jahrbocfa  fner  die  Aml£cfae  Stadstik  des  Pieussihclicn 
Staats.  Herausgcgrficn  Tom  Kocn^  Statistisdien  Bn- 
rean.    1-2  Jalnif.    Bcrliii,  1863  and  1867. 

An  aSdal  fiiHiralinn  cnnlainiaK  v^hnUc  iiiipii  iliir  taUes 
<Lute>ing  tibe  pedod  1624-18G6L 

"Das  Vereinswcscn  als  Mittd  mr  Sitti£--:r-r  ier  Fab- 
rikaibeitcr.*    v.  Falhti,  in  Zdlschrift  fner  Lt  r .  -:e 

Staatswisscnsrhafr,  v.  i,  1844,  pp.  737-791. 

Hmrn^trnwr*.  Ae  lessoBS  tao^bt  hf  dblHifaiinces  in  SSesia  and 
Bohemia  in  1844.  The  aaOar  aisMS  Aat  Ae  fwrnitinn  of 
societies  for  the  fiolc  lariat  is  one  of  Ae  means  of  aaacfiaiaiiBS 
tiiciT  confition. 

B.    Bncicuopaedias 

Universal-Lezikon  foer  Kaiiflnile  mid  Fdbrftaoten, 
Oder  ^oDstaenAges  Handbodi  des  HandrH  Fafarik-Man- 
nfaklmiKescns,  der  Mnenz-, Maass-, Gcwidit-, and Waar- 
cnkonde^  der   Sduffalnt,   Wcdiscl-imd-Bankgcsdiacftew 


96  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

und  der  Handlungsgeographie  und  Statistik,  mit  besond- 

erer  Ruecksicht  auf  National  Oekonomie  imd  Finanzen. 

J.  R.  MacCullough.    Augsberg,  1842. 

A  work  of  reference  of  over  1500  pages.  This  volume  is 
in  the  "von  Ranke  Library,"  which  is  now  owned  by  Syracuse 
University.  Under  the  direction  of  Prof.  E.  E.  Sperry,  this 
library  has  been  catalogued  and  conveniently  arranged  in  a 
fire-proof  room. 

Allgemeine  vergleichende  Handels-  und  Gewerbe-Geo- 

graphie  und  Statistik.     Fr.  W.  v.  Reden,  Berlin,  1844. 

Contains  the  kind  of  information  of  interest  and  importance 
to  manufacturers  and  merchants  in  the  forties.  It  describes 
trade,  agriculture,  manufacture,  and  means  of  communication 
of  the  important  countries  of  the  world. 

Handwoerterbuch  der  Staatswissenschaften.  Heraus- 
gegeben  v.  L.  Conrad,  L.  Elster,  W.  Lexis  und  Ed. 
Loening.    8  vols.  Jena,  1909-11. 

Contains  reliable  articles  on  industrial  topics. 

C.    Biography 

Bergengruen,  Alex. — Staatsminister  August  Freiherr 
von  der  Heydt.    Leipzic,  1908. 

A  scholarly  work  based  on  the  von  der  Heydt  papers,  the 
material  in  the  Secret  State  Archives,  and  the  minutes  of  the 
Town  Council  of  Elberfeld. 

Biermann,  W.  E. — Karl  Georg  Winkelblech  (Karl 
Mario)  Sein  Leben  und  sein  Werk.  2  vols.  Leipzic, 
1909. 

Vol.  2  contains  an  extended  account  of  the  craftsmen's  con- 
gresses in  Hamburg  and  Frankfurt,  and  the  workmen's  congress 
in  Berlin.     The  three  appendices  contain  valuable  reprints. 

Caspary,  Anna — Ludolf  Camphausens  Leben.  Stutt- 
gart and  Berlin,  1902. 

Based  on  the  Camphausen  papers.  Contains  numerous  ex- 
tracts. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  97 

D.    Me;moirs 

Born,  Stephen — Erinnerungen  eines  Achtundvierzigers. 
Leipzic,  1898. 

Born  was  president  of  the  Workmen's  Congress  held  in 
Berlin  in  1848,  and  editor  of  "Die  Verbruederung,"  the  organ 
of  the  Central  Committee  of  the  German  workmen.  He  wrote 
his  "Memoirs"  fifty  years  after  the  events  he  describes. 

The  purpose  of  the  Memoirs  is  stated  as  follows : 

"...  das  richtig  zu  stellen  was  in  unrichtiger  Kenntnis 
der  Verhaeltnisse  und  in  voelliger  Unkenntnis  meiner  Person 
da  und  dort  in  neuester  Zeit  von  mir  gesagt  und  auch  gefabelt 
worden  ist." — 

"Ich  schreibe  um  etwas  Licht  zu  verbreiten  ueber  Menschen 
und  Dinge,  die  ich  in  jenen  Bewegungsjahren  (1848-49)  genau 
kennen  gelernt,  um  einen  bescheidenen  Beitrag  zu  liefern  zur 
Geschichte  des  Werdens  einer  neuen  Zeit,  und  damit  auch  die 
Legendenbildung,  die  schon  in  voller  Thaetigkeit  ist,  einiger 
massen  zu  stoeren,  wenn  es  unmoeglich  ist,  sie  ganz  zu  ver- 
hindern." 

Fischer,  Carl — Denkwuerdigkeiten  und  Erinnerungen 
eines  Arbeiters.  Herausgegeben  v.  Paul  Goehre.  2  vols, 
(vol.  2  called  Neue  Folge).    Leipzic,  1904. 

Describes  industrial  conditions  in  general  from  about  1840  on. 

E.     Special  Works 

I.     Economic 

Adler,  G. — Ueber  die  Epochen  der  Deutschen  Hand- 
werker-Politik.    Jena,  1903. 

Sketches  briefly  the  guild  laws  from  the  Middle  Ages  to 
the  present  era.  Its  purpose  is  to  show  that  workmen's  insur- 
ance is  the  next  logical  step. 

Adler,  G. — Die  Geschichte  der  ersten  Sozial-politischen 
Arbeiter-bewegung  in  Deutschland,  mit  besonderer 
Ruecksicht  auf  die  einwirkenden  Theorien.  Breslau, 
1885. 

Distinguishes  between  the  socio-political  labor  movement  and 
the  communist  movement  of  1848  in  Germany. 

It  contains  an  extended  critical  list  of  contemporary  periodi- 
cals, newspapers  and  pamphlets. 


98  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

Anton,  G.  K. — Geschichte  der  preussischen  Fabrikge- 
setzgebung  bis  zu  ihrer  Aufnahme  durch  die  Reichs- 
gewerbeordnung.  St.  u.  sw.  Fgn.  (Schmoller)  vol.  ii, 
Heft  2.    Leipzic,  1891. 

Treats  of  child  labor  laws  and  the  laws  protecting  laborers 
against  unfair  reduction  of  wages. 

The  purpose  is  stated  as  follows:  ".  .  .  die  allmaehliche 
organische  Entwickelung  des  Liberalismus  in  der  preussischen 
Gewerbepolitik  darzustellen." 

Beringer,   L. — Die   Gesetzgebung    der    Innungen    in 

Deutschland  und  der  gewerblichen  Genossenschaften  in 

Oesterreich  waehrend  der  letzten  hundert  Jahre.     Eine 

rechthistorische  und  vergleichende  Darstellung  unter  be- 

sonderer  Beruecksichtigung  der  stenog^aphischen  Berich- 

te.    Mayence,  1906. 

A  critical  study,  emphasizing  the  legal  principles  underlying 
the  various  industrial  laws  in  Germany  from  1810  to  1897.  Pages 
194-198  contain  an  attempt  to  define  "Fabrick,"  "Handwerk," 
"Kaufmann"  and  "Handwerker." 

Bernstein,  Ed. — Die  Geschichte  der  BerUner-Arbeiter- 

Beweg^ng.     Ein  Kapitel  zur  Geschichte  der  deutschen 

Sozialdemokratie.     3  vols.     Berlin,  1907-10. 

Written  by  an  eminent  Socialist.  Contains  facsimiles  of 
newspapers,  pamphlets,  etc. 

Boeckh,  R. — Die  geschichtliche  Entwickelung  der 
amtlichen  Statistik  des  preussischen  Staates,  im  Auftrag 
des  Direktors  des  Koeniglichen  Statistischen  Bureaus 
Herm  Dr.  Engel.    Berlin,  1863. 

A  useful  history  of  the  collection  of  statistical  data  in  Prus- 
sia from  1683-1861. 

Dehn,  P. — Die  katholischen  Gesellenvereine  in 
Deutschland.  Zeit-  und  Streit-Fragen,  Jhg.  XI,  Heft 
170.     Berlin,  1882. 

Gives  a  general  account  of  their  origin  and  development. 

"Gev^^erb-  und  Gesellenvereine  in  Deutschland."  Un- 
sere  Zeit.  vol.  3,  pp.  545-562.    Leipzic,  1859. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  99 

This  article  shows  that  the  formation  of  "Gewerbevereine" 
and  "Gesellenvereine"  was  an  indication  that  the  guild  system 
was  in  process  of  dissolution. 

"Unsere  Zeit"  is  the  continuation  of  "Die  Gegenwart"  (1848- 
56).  Both  are  annual  supplements  to  "Brockhaus'  Konversa- 
tions-Lexikon." 

Die  Verbindungen  der  Maurergesellen  oder  authen- 
tische  Darstellung  der  bei  diesen  Verbindungen  uebliche 
Gebraeuche  nebst  Mittheilungen  ueber  die  neueste  Ge- 
schichte  derselben.    Luebeck,  1841. 

A  description  of  the  customs  of  journeymen,  published  by 
the  representatives  of  the  master-masons  assembled  in  Altona. 

Dieterici,  C.  F.  W. — Handbuch  der  Statistik  des  preus- 

sischen  Staats.     Berlin,  1861. 

Completed  and  published  posthumously  by  the  author's  son. 
An  invaluable  description  of  the  people,  natural  resources,  politi- 
cal institutions,  industry,  and  commerce  of  Prussia,   1738-1859. 

Kremp,  J.  H. — Ueber  den  Einfluss  des  Ernte  Ausfalls 

auf  die  Getreidepreise  waehrend  der  Jahre  1846- 1875  in 

den  hauptsaechlichsten  Laendern  Europas.    Jena,  1879. 

This  is  volume  2  of  "Sammlung  nationaloekonomischer  und 
statistischer  Abhandlungen"  of  Conrad's  seminar  in  Halle. 

Mascher,  H.  A. — Das  deutsche  Gewerbewesen  von  der 
f  ruehesten  Zeit  bis  auf  die  Gegenwart.  Nach  Geschichte, 
Recht,  National-oekonomie  und  Statistik. 

A  scholarly  work  based  on  contemporary  sources. 

Meuss,  J.  F. — Die  Unternehmungen  des  koeniglichen 
Seehandlungs-Instituts  zur  Emporbringung  des  preus- 
sischen  Handels  zur  See.    Berlin,  1913. 

A  scholarly  study  based  on  the  documents  in  the  archives 
of  the  "Seehandlung,"  the  Secret  Archives,  the  Foreign  Office, 
and  the  Prussian  Ministry  of  Commerce.  It  covers  the  period 
from  1 772-1854. 

Quarck,  Max — Die  Arbeiterverbruederung,  1848-49. 
Frankfurt  a.  M.  1900. 

Important  chiefly  for  its  reprints  of  sources.  The  author  is 
a  Socialist. 


100          INDUSTRIAI,  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

Roehl,  H. — Beitraege   zur   preussischen   Handwerker 

politik  vom  allgemeinen  Landrecht  bis  zur  allgemeinen 

Gewerbeordnung  von  1845.     Schmoller,  St.  u.  sw.  Fgn. 

vol.  17,  Heft  4.    I^eipzic,  1900. 

A  study  of  the  introduction  of  industrial  freedom  into  Prus- 
sia from  1794-1845;  based  on  material  in  the  Berlin  archives. 
The  bibliography  is  excellent. 

Rohrscheidt,  K. — Vom  Zunftzwang  zur  Gewerbefrei- 

heit.    Berlin,  1898. 

A  study  of  the  organization  and  evils  of  the  Prussian  guilds 
in  the  i8th  century,  and  of  the  introduction  of  industrial  free- 
dom to  1823.  Based  on  material  in  the  Koenigsberg  archives. 
Excellent  bibliography. 

Roscher,  W. — Die  grosse  und  die  kleine  Industrie. 
Die  Gegenwart  v.  10,  pp.  688-739.    Leipzic,  1855. 

A  discussion,  by  an  eminent  economist,  of  the  transition  from 
handicraft  to  factory,  and  its  social  effects. 

Schmoller,  G. — Zur  Geschichte  der  deutschen  Kleinge- 
werbe  im  19  Jahrhundert.    Halle,  1870. 

Shows  the  transition  of  a  number  of  industries  from  small 
trades  to  large  enterprises. 

This  study  first  appeared  in  the  "Arbeiterfreund"  of  1869. 

Simon,  O. — Die  Fachbildung  des  Preussischen  Ge- 
werbes  und  Handelstandes  im  18  und  19  Jahrhtmdert 
nach  den  Bestimmungen  des  Gewerberechts  und  der  Ver- 
fassung  des  gewerblichen  Unterrichtswesens.  Berlin, 
1892. 

A  discussion  of  the  requirements  for  technical  training  from 
1794-1900.     Refers  briefly  to  the  labor  movement  of  1848. 

Soetbeer,  A. — Graphische  Darstellung  von  Schwan- 
kungen  der  Getreidepreise.    Hamburg,  1854. 

Table  i  shows  average  annual  price  of  wheat  in  Prussia, 
Hamburg,  England,  France,  and  Belgium  from  1816-53. 

Tables  2-3  show  the  average  weekly  price  of  wheat  and  rye 
from  1846-54. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  lOi 

Sombart,     W. — Die    deutsche     Volkswirthschaft    im 
Neunzehnten  Jahrhundert.    Berlin,  1903. 

An  admirable  survey  of  the  whole  field.  The  popular  edi- 
tion of  1913  brings  the  statistics  down  to  the  date  of  publica- 
tion.   No  other  changes  appear  to  have  been  made. 

Stromeyer,  F. — Abhuelfe  der  Arbeiternoth  durch  Or- 
ganization der  Arbeit.    Belle- Vue  bei  Constanz,  1844. 

Contains  suggestions  for  the  amelioration  of  the  deplorable 
labor  conditions. 

Waentig,  H. — Die  gewerbepolitischen  Anschauungen 
in  Wissenschaft  und  Gesetzgebung  des  neunzehten  Jahr- 
hunderts.  In  "Die  Entwicklung  der  deutschen  Volks- 
wirtschaftslehre  im  neunzehnten  Jahrhundert."  Vol.  2, 
Art.  25.     Leipzic,  1908. 

A  condensed  outline  of  the  development  of  industrial  liberal- 
ism. 

Wiedfeldt,    O. — Statistische    Studien     zur     Entw^ick- 

elungsgeschichte     der     Berliner     Industrie      1720-1890. 

Schmoller,  St.  u.  sw.  Fgn.  v.  16,  Heft  2.    Leipzic,  1898. 

A  scholarly  study  of  the  reliability  of  available  statistics  and 
a  description  of  the  condition  of  the  chief  industries  of  Berlin. 

2.     Political 

Becker,  B. — Die  Reaktion  in  Deutschland  gegen  die 

Revolution  von  1848,  beleuchtet  in  sozialer,  nationaler 

und  staatlicher  Beziehung.    Vienna,  1869. 

Traces  the  forces  of  reaction  operative  in  the  Revolution  of 
1848  in  Germany  and  Austria. 

Blum,  H. — Die  Deutsche  Revolution  1848-49.    Leipzic, 
1905. 
A .  scholarly  survey  written  by  a  liberal.     Well  illustrated. 

Buelow-Cummerow — Preussen,  seine  Verfassung,  seine 
Verwaltung,  sein  Verhaeltnis  zu  Deutschland.  2  vols. 
Berlin,  1842-43. 


102  INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 

A  description  of  the  administrative  departments  of  Prussia 
before  the  promulgation  of  the  Constitution  of  1850. 

Busch,  W. — Die  Berliner  Maerztage  von  1848.  Die 
Ereignisse  iind  ihre  Ueberlieferung.  Munich  and  Leip- 
zic,  1899. 

An  attempt  to  give  a  critical  account  of  the  March  Revolu- 
tion in  Berlin.  Contains  a  critical  study  of  contemporary- 
material. 

"Die  Maerzrevolution  in  Preussen."    Die  Gegenwart 
vol.  4.    Leipzic,  1850. 
An  objective  account. 

"Die  Deutsche  Nationalversammlung."  Die  Gegen- 
wart vol.  5.  Leipzic,  1850  (continued  in  vol.  7,  1852; 
concluded  in  vol.  9,  1854). 

An  excellent  description  of  the  Parliament  of  Frankfurt 

Klein-Hattingen,  O. — Geschichte  des  deutschen  Liber- 
alismus,  2  vols.     Berlin,  1911-12. 

This  is  by  far  the  best  work  on  the  subject. 

Lueders,  G. — Die  demokratische  Bewegung  in  Berlin 
im  Oktober  1848.  Heft  XI  der  "Abhandlungen  zur  Mit- 
tleren  und  Neueren  Geschichte."     Berlin  and  Leipzic, 

1909- 

A  scholarly  study.  Contains  a  critical  estimate  of  contempo- 
rary material,  especially  of  the  newspapers. 

Meier,  E. — Die  Reform  der  Verwaltungs-Organization 
unter  Stein  und  Hardenberg.    Leipzic,  1881. 

Based  on  material  in  the  Secret  State  Archives,  the  Minis- 
try of  the  Interior,  and  the  Ministry  of  Justice. 

3.     Miscellaneous 

Meyer,  D. — Das  oeffentliche  Leben  in  Berlin  im  Jahr 
vor  der  Maerzrevolution.    Berlin,  1912. 

A  Heidelberg  dissertation  with  a  fair  bibliography.  It  gives 
an  interesting  picture  of  life  in  Berlin  in  1847  under  the  follow- 


BIBUOGRAPHY  103 

ing  headings :  "Sozialer  Aufbau  der  Bevoelkerung,  Stadtver- 
fassung  und  Verwaltung,  formen  des  oeffentlichen  Lebens  (Ve- 
reine,  Lokale,  Salons),  Ereignisse  des  oefifentlichen  Lebens  in 
Berlin  1847  (Landtag,  Teuerung,  Kartoffelrevolution) ." 

Salomon,  L- — Geschichte  des  Deutschen  Zeitungswes- 
ens  von  den  ersten  Anfaengen  bis  zur  Wiederaufrichtung 
des  Deutschen  Reichs.  3  vols.  Oldenburg  and  lyeipzic, 
1900-06. 

Vol.  3  contains  a  long  discussion  of  the  newspapers  in  Ger- 
many from  1830-49. 

F.    General  Works 

Oncken,  W. — Das  Zeitalter  des  Kaisers  Wilhelm. 
2  vols.     Berlin,  1890. 

An  extensive  treatment  of  the  history  of  Germany  from  1814- 
88. 

Stern,  A. — Geschichte  Europas  seit    den    Vertraegen 

von  1815  bis  zum  Frankfurter  Frieden  von  1871.    6  vols. 

Berlin,  1894- 1 911. 

This  is  the  best  work  on  the  subject.  Vol.  6  brings  the  history 
down  to  1848.     Each  volume  contains  a  number  of  documents. 

Sybel,  H. — The  Founding  of  the  German  Empire  by 
William  I.  Translated  by  M.  L.  Perrin.  7  vols.  New- 
York,  1890-98. 

This  work  is  based  on  material  in  the  Prussian  Archives. 
Vol.  I  contains  an  account  of  the  political  events  of  1848-49. 

Treitschke,  H. — Deutsche  Geschichte  im  neunzehnten 

Jahrhundert. 

Covers  period  from  1814  to  1848.  Treitschke  wrote  for  the 
purpose  of  persuading  Germany  to  accept  the  leadership  of 
Prussia. 

Ward,  A.  W. — Germany  1815-90.    Cambridge,  1916. 
Vol.  I  treats  of  the  period  from  1815-52. 


INDEX 


Abbreviations,  82. 

Academy  o£  Arts,  8,  33. 

Administrative  Board,  35. 

Agents,  23,  25,  27. 

Agreement,  6,  35. 

Agricultural  situation,  57. 

Agriculture,  42,  68. 

Aix-la-Chapelle,  61. 

Allgemeine  Gewerheordnung : 
see  Industrial  Law. 

Allgemeines  Landrecht:  see 
Prussian  Code. 

Altgeselle,  6. 

Amendment,  72. 

Annuity:  redeemable,  19,  20, 
21. 

Apothecary,   27,  39. 

Apprentice,  5,  9,  13,  23,  28,  34, 
37,  38,  52,  S3,  77,  78,  8i: 
"acceptance,"  34,  37,  38,  40; 
charges,  38;  dismissal,  38; 
education,  37,  38;  examina- 
tion, 38 ;  promotion,  5 ;  rela- 
tion to  employer,  35;  train- 
ing,  32. 

Artificer,  6  note  22;  7  note  22; 
8;  52. 

Assembly,  73. 

Assessment,  19. 

Assistance,  45;  state,  45;  pri- 
vate, 45.  See  also  Govern- 
ment assistance. 

Assistant,  12,  15,  24,  32,  also 
note  S3 ;  34,  37,  38,  71 ;  rela- 
tion to  employer,  35,  36. 

Association,  s8. 

Auctioneer,  27. 


Ausschliessliche        Gewerhehe- 

rechtigung,  18. 
Baden,  2,  s6. 

Baker,  10,  19,  20,  21,  30,  44. 
Bankrupt,  32. 
Banlieue,  8. 

Banngerechtigkeit,  1 1,  17  note  I. 
Bannmeile,  8. 
Bannrechte,   14,   also  note  47; 

19,  20. 
Barley,  43. 
Barricade,  48,  55. 
Basket-weaver,  24. 
Bavaria,  2. 
Belgium,  25. 
Benefit  association,  37. 
Benefit-fund,  6,  S4- 
Berlin,  11,  44,  4s,  46,  47,  48,  49, 

so,  SI,  52,  S4,  55,  59,  74,  75, 

78. 
Berlin  market,  43. 
Berlin-Spandau  Canal,  74. 
Bibliography,  17,  83. 
Boatman,  51. 

Book-printer's  assistant,  49. 
Borneman,  S4,  also  note  26. 
Borsig,  46,  also  note  12;  48. 
Brandenburg,    16  note  S3 !  47', 

62  note  10;  64,  76  note  46. 
Branntweinzwang,  11. 
Braiizwang,  11. 
Breslau,   si- 
Brewer,  II,  13,  20,  21. 
Bromberg  chamber,  8. 
Brotherhood   (The),  56. 
Budget,  69. 
Building  commission,  ii. 


io6 


INDUSTRIAL   FREEDOM   IN   PRUSSIA 


Bureau  of  Statistics,  43. 

Burgher,  9,  10,  13,  26. 

Burghership,  4,  26,  69,  ^^. 

Butcher,  10,  19,  20,  21. 

Cabinet  order,  64. 

Calico-printer,  47,  49. 

Camphausen,  61,  66. 

Canal,  50,  59,  74. 

Capital,  10,  71. 

Carpenter,  11,  12. 

Cattle,  42. 

Central  Commission,  72. 

Central  Committee,  56. 

Central  Society,  55,  56;  con- 
stitution of,  55. 

Central  Society  for  the  Wel- 
fare of  the  Working  Classes, 

54- 
Certificate,    12,   14,    18,   19,   27, 

32,  34,  36,  38,  40. 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  46,  61 ; 

of  Cologne,  61. 
Chamber  of  the  Three  Estates, 

62,  65. 
Charitable  fund,  58,  59,  60,  62, 

65. 

Charter,  4. 

Children,  49,  52. 

Chimney-sweeper,  12,  14,  23,  30. 

Citizen  guard,  50. 

Class  tax,  59,  60,  also  note  6; 
61,  66,  73,  76. 

Clerg>-men,  76. 

Climatic  condition,  42. 

Coercive  right,  1 1,  19,  20,  21; 
calculation  of,  20;  of  mill- 
ers, 20;  abolition  of,  22. 

Cologne,  46,  51. 

Commerce,  59,  68. 

Commercial  Code,  66. 

Commercial  interests,  79. 


Committee  for  the  Alleviation 
of  Poverty  in  Upper  Silesia, 

45- 

Committee  of  Fifty,  ^^  note  47. 

Committee  of  Thirty-two,  62, 
63. 

Committee  on  Economic  Af- 
fairs, ']^  note  47. 

Committee  on  Economic  Con- 
ditions, 54  note  26. 

Committee  on  Industry  and 
Commerce,  78. 

Communications  of  the  Central 
Society,  56. 

Community,  19;  urban,  15,  21; 
rural,  15,  21. 

Compensation,  ii,  18,  21,  79; 
Act  of,  17,  19,  20,  22,  29. 

Competition,  10,  14,  80. 

Concession,    19. 

Congress  of  Vienna,  16,  22,  80. 

Constitution,  31,  34,  39,  73. 

Consumer,  14,  20. 

Contract,  8,  21. 

Contractual  relationship,  53. 

Co-operative  industrial  associ- 
ation, 54. 

Cost  of  subsistence,  80. 

Council  of  State,  2,  66,  67,  T^. 

Craft,  13,  27,  46,  53,  ^^,  79; 
organization,  3 ;  corporation, 
20.     See  also  Guild. 

Craft  Guild,  See  Guild. 

Craftsman,  2,  12,  14,  15,  23,  30, 
34.  35,  37,  39,  46,  48,  52,  54 
note  25,  67,  ^2,  78;  foreign, 
li;  native,  ii;  non-guild,  39; 
rural,  4,  5,  8,  9. 

Craftsmen's  Association  of 
Berlin,  53;  of  Gross  Glogau, 
53. 


INDEX 


107 


Credit,  80;   restoration  of,  68. 

Crops,  43 ;  destruction  of,  42. 

Customs  Conference,  65. 

Customs  Union,  25,  26,  54,  64. 

Custom  trade,  5,  12. 

Day  laborer,  67,  73,  74,  80,  81. 

Day  nursery,  54. 

Dealing  in  futures,  63. 

Diet,  61,  62,  63,  65,  66,  67,  68, 
69,  70. 

Diet  of  the  Confederation,  36. 

Dieterici,  44. 

Direct  tax,  67. 

Discontent:  causes  of,  48;  in- 
creasing, 48;  in  the  prov- 
inces, 51. 

Dissolved  guild,  32. 

Distiller,  11,  13,  20,  21. 

Distillery,  63. 

Distilling,  64,  66. 

Distress,  72. 

Distribution,  52. 

District  Commission,  71. 

District  Industrial  Court,  79. 

Disturbance,  47. 

Duties,  20. 

Eastern  Railway,  75. 

East  German  Young  Men's 
League,  53. 

East  Prussian  Diet,  8. 

Edict,  9,  II,  13,  16;  of  181 1,  17. 

Education,  35,  53,  54. 

Egells,  46,  48. 

Elberfeld,  51,  53,  54. 

Embargo,  64,  66. 

Employee,  47,  48,  69,  71,  ^2,  79. 

Employer,  47,  71,  ^2,  79. 

Emplo>'ment  bureau,  48,  49. 

Enterprise,  22. 


Entschaedigungsanerkenntnis, 
18,  also  note  6.  See  Cer- 
tificate. 

Ersatssteuer,  70.    See  Sur-tax. 

Estates,  58,  62,  also  note  11. 

Examination,  40,  78;  oral  test, 
40 ;  practical  demonstration 
of  skill,  40;  master's,  79. 

Examination  fee,  39,  yj. 

Examining  board,  39;  district, 
39;  local,  39;  organization  of, 
39. 

Exchequer,  20. 

Exclusive  privilege.  See  Ex- 
clusive right. 

Exclusive  right,  21,  41;  aboli- 
tion of,  22. 

Export,  64. 

Fabrikant,  7,  28  note  40. 

Factory,  3,  7,  9,  49,  51,  52,  54, 
72,  79- 

Factory  economy,  42,  57. 

Factory  employee,  6  note  22 ;  7, 
12,  37,  52,  81. 

Factory-hand,  7. 

Factory  legislation,  39  note  66. 

Factory  owner,  77. 

Factory  system,  46,  59. 

Fair,  6,  8,  28,  also  note  40;  30. 

Farmer,  9,  10. 

Ferry-rights,  21. 

First  United  Diet,  59,  60. 

Fishmonger,  24. 

Fixed  trade.    See  Trade. 

Flayer,  5,  30. 

Flayer  rights,  21. 

Flood,  42. 

Food,  60. 

Food  riot,  44. 

Foodstuff,  14,  42. 

Foreigner,  14,  25,  26,  27,  28. 


io8 


INDUSTRIAI,  FREEDOM   IN   PRUSSIA 


Foreman,  39. 

Forfeiture,  7. 

Foundry,  46  note  12. 

France,  1. 

Frankfurt  Parliament,  54  note 
26,  ^^  note  4. 

Frederick  William,  66,  67,  70, 
80. 

Freedom  of  travel,  66. 

Free-master,  3,  4,  5,  9,  15. 

Frei-meister.    See  Free-master. 

Fruit-seller,  24. 

Fund,  4,  31,  68;  special,  69;  for 
discounting  commercial  pa- 
per, 69. 

Funeral,  48. 

Gehuelfe.    See  Assistant. 

Gendarmenmarkt,  44. 

General    strike,   49,    52. 

German  Customs  Union,  66. 

German  Empire,  2. 

Germanic  Confederation,  55. 

Germany,  36,  56,  77  note  47. 

Geselle.     See  Journeyman. 

Gesellenlade.  See  Journey- 
man's  fund. 

Gewerbeberechtigungen,  13. 

Gewerbebetrieb  im  Umher- 
ziehen,  19,  22.  See  also  Itin- 
erant trade. 

Gewerbefreiheit,  3  note  10,  17 
note  I.  See  also  Industrial 
freedom. 

Gewerbegerechtigkeit,  12.  See 
Trade  privilege. 

Gewerkslade.  See  Guild  treas- 
ury. 

Glazier,  23. 

Government,  42. 

Grain,  43,  63;  hoarding  of,  63. 

Granite  mason,  9. 


Grinding  of  grain,  59;  tax  on, 

60,  also  note  6. 
Guild,  10,  28,  35,  38,  48,  57,  77, 

78,  79,  81;   craft,   I,  3,   7,  9, 

31;  new,  3;  commercial,  31; 

limited,  3,  41 ;   unlimited,  3 ; 

government    control    of,    3; 

rights  of,  4;  acceptance  into, 

4;    regulations,   5;   town,   5; 

admission,     5;     subjects,     5; 

merchant,    8,    46;    hawkers', 

10;  millers',  10;  resignation, 

13;    dissolution    of,    13,    19; 

inadequacy    of,    52;    general 

rules,    34;    constitution,    34; 

by-laws,  34. 
Guild-charter,  6. 
Guild-chest,  6. 
Guild  district,  5. 
Guild  economy,  42,  57,  73. 
Guild  elders,  6. 
Guild-master,    5,    15,    77.      See 

also  Master-craftsman. 
Guild    system,    80;    restrictive, 

16. 
Guild  treasury,  6. 
Halle,  44. 
Hamburg,  56. 
Handicraftsman,  15. 
Handwerker.    See  Factory  em- 

ploj-ee. 
Handworker,  58,  67. 
Hansemann,  61,  66,  67,  68,  69. 
Hardenberg,  i,  9,  11,  13,  15,  16, 

22,  80. 
Harvest,  43,  59,  64. 
Hereditaments,  27. 
Holy  Roman  Empire,  i,  80. 
House  of  Lords,  62. 
Hydraulic  pump,  50. 
Illustrirte  Zeitung,  46  note  12. 


INDEX 


109 


Imperial  Diet,  I,  15,  80. 

Imperial  reform,  i. 

Incidence  of  taxation,  69. 

Income  tax,  60,  61,  66,  70,  73, 
76. 

Indemnity,  li. 

Industrial  classes,  52,  71. 

Industrial  committee,  71. 

Industrial  court,  55. 

Industrial  education,  46. 

Industrial  era,  57. 

Industrial  exhibition,  54. 

Industrial  freedom,  2,  9,  10,  1 1, 
14,  15,  17,  59,  63,  73,  79,  80, 
81;  abolition  of,  ^T,  evolu- 
tion of,  3,  13 ;  features  of, 
41. 

Industrial  Law,  15,  16,  17,  20, 
21,  22,  23,  24,  26,  27,  31,  32, 
33.  34,  35,  37  also  note  65, 
39,  42,  46.  57,  58,  63,  71,  72, 
78,  79,  80 ;  amendments,  2,  65, 
Tj;  changes  in,  40;  compro- 
mise, 2;  new,  58;  revision,  2. 

Industrial  organization,  52. 

Industrial  policy,  4. 

Industrial  privilege  (exclu- 
sive), 13,  31,  32. 

Industrial  problem,  58,  62,  65, 

Industrial  reorganization,  i,  7. 

Industrial  restriction,  60. 

Industry,  51,  59,  67,  68,  71,  72. 

Initiation  fee,  ^^. 

Inn-keeper,  30. 

Instructions,  10. 

Interest,  18;  payable  by  crafts- 
men, 19;  payable  by  com- 
munity, 19. 

Interpellation,  74,  75. 

Invention,   53. 


Investment,  76. 

Iron  industry,  46. 

Jena,  i,  9. 

Jenny  Lind,  45. 

Jewish  disabilities,  26. 

Jews,  12,  22,  25,  2T,  28,  60,  63, 
66 ;  naturalized,  25 ;  restric- 
tions upon,  25;  unnatural- 
ized, 25. 

Joint  Committee,  66. 

Journe>-man,  4,  11,  13,  23,  28, 
32  note  53,  34,  35,  zt,  38,  48, 
49,  52,  53,  55,  58,  71,  12,  7^, 
81;  Congress  of,  77  note  47; 
credentials,  5,  6;  fund,  6; 
illness,  6;  promotion,  4;  reg- 
ulations, 5;  relation  to  em- 
ployer, 35,  36;  servant,  6; 
training,  32;  wages,  6. 

Journeyman-clothmaker,  73. 

Journeymen's    Society,   53. 

King,  59,  61,  62,  64,  65,  66,  67, 
69,  70,  72,  74,  78. 

Knight,  62  note  1 1. 

Koenigsberg,  9,  11. 

Koepenik  Field,  50,  51. 

Kottbus,  73. 

Knenstler.     See  Artificer. 

Labor,  10,  71. 

Labor  disturbance,  74. 

Laborer,  2,  12,  52. 

Laboring  class,  45,  46. 

Lamprecht,  6  note  22. 

Law,  16,  42;  of  February  9th, 
1849,  78. 

Legislation,  2.  See  also  Indus- 
trial law. 

Lehrherr,  38. 

Leipzig,  56. 

Lessee,  19. 

Lessor,  19. 


no         INDUSTRIAL  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 


Liberalism  (economic),  22. 

Library  (von  Ranke's),  96. 

License,  11,  12,  13,  14,  IS;  dis- 
tricts, 23. 

Lithuania,  10. 

Loan,  62,  68,  69,  70. 

Loan-bank,  70. 

Local  authorities,  33,  38,  39- 

Local  committee,  71. 

Local  examining  board,  38. 

Local  Society,  55. 

Local  Society  of  Berlin,  56. 

Locomotive,  46  note  12. 

Lower  House,  64,  65. 

Machinery,  47,  49. 

Machine  shop,  46  note  12,  48. 

Magdeburg,   48. 

Mahlsteuer,  59,  61,  67.  See 
Grinding  of  grain. 

Mahlzwang,  20. 

Manufacture     (new    processes 

of),  53. 
Manufacturer,  8,  14,  22,  46,  52, 

55.   69,    71,    78,   81;    foreign, 

I,  native,  li. 
Maritime     Trading     Company, 

46,  59. 

Market,  8,  27,  28  note  40,  30, 
44.  73,  79;  annual,  6,  14,  23, 
24,  28;  butter,  30;  cattle,  30; 
Christmas,  30;  linen,  30; 
weekly,  14,  23,  24,  28,  29; 
wool,  30;  yarn,  30. 

Market-right,  8. 

Markt.     See  market. 

Marktherechtigte,  29. 

Martial  law,  50. 

Mason,  11. 

Master,  5,  38.  See  also  Mas- 
ter-craftsman. 


Master-craftsman,  5,  7,  52,  55, 
59.  71,  7Z,  80;  Congress  of, 
17  note  47. 

Masterpiece,  4,  5,  39,  72. 

Masterworkman,  53. 

Mechanische  Kuenstler,  7  note 
22. 

Meister,  37  note  65 ;  see  Mas- 
ter. 

Merchandise,  14. 

Merchant,  14,  15,  22,  24,  39,  46, 
69;  foreign,  ii;  native,  11. 

Messe.     See  Fair. 

Miethsteuer,  70.  See  Tax  on 
house  rents. 

Milde,  72,,  75. 

Military,  48,  50,  52. 

Military  official,  76. 

Mill,  10. 

Miller,  11,  20. 

Minister  of  Commerce  and 
Trade,  50. 

Minister  of  Finance,  61,  62,  64, 
66,  68,  70,  75,  76. 

Minister  of  the  Interior,  45. 

Ministerial  order,  26,  69. 

Ministry,  23,  26,  29,  30,  34,  36, 
40. 

Ministry  of  Commerce  and 
Industry,  58,  65,  73,  74. 

Ministry  of  Commerce,  Indus- 
try, and  Public  Works,  54 
note  26,  65,  70,  72,  73,  78. 

Ministry  of  Labor,  47,  48,  73. 

Ministry  of  the  Interior,  61, 
62,   70. 

Model  Guild  Constitution,  34. 

Monarchy,  22,  24. 

Monopoly,  2,  14;  of  sale,  10; 
of  salt,  65;  state,  21. 

Monopoly  privilege,  11. 


INDEX 


III 


Muehlenzwang,  ii. 
Municipal  authorities,  34,  44. 
Ivlunicipal  board,  4,  10. 
Municipal  charity  fund,  6. 
Municipality,  33,  74. 
Municipal  Law,  26. 
Musician,  24. 
Nachweisiings-Anstalt,  49.    See 

Employment  Bureau. 
Napoleon,  9,  80. 
National  Assembly,  76,  78. 
National    Parliament,    77   note 

47. 

Nationals,  23. 

Naturalization  law,  66. 

Net  returns,  18,  21. 

New  Guilds,  31,  32;  initiation 
fee,  23 ;  membership  in,  33 ; 
no  proficiency  test  required, 
34;  organization,  33;  plural 
voting,  23 ;  proficiency  test, 
32;  purpose  of,  32;  two 
kinds,  32;  voting,  33. 

New  industrial  era,  46. 

New  Industrial  Law,  73. 

New  industry,  62. 

New  penal  code,  66. 

Newspaper,  44,  45. 

Nobleman,  9,  62  note  11. 

Non-Guild  master,  13. 

North  German  Confedera- 
tion, 2. 

Oats,  43. 

Occupation,  79. 

October  riots,  50. 

Old  Guild,  32,  33,  39,  77;  con- 
stitution, 31,  39;  dissolution, 
31,  34,  77:  by-laws,  31,  39. 

Order,  9,  23. 

Organization  (benevolent  and 
protective),  57. 


Orphans,  32. 

Pal-is,  48. 

Parliamentary  goverrmient,  58. 

Passport,  36,  37. 

Patent  right,  21. 

Patow,  54,  also  note  26. 

Peas,  43. 

Peddler,  15,  24;  at  market,  29. 

Pension,  76. 

Permit,   15. 

Petition,  47,  58,  63,  72,  73,  74, 
77- 

Piece-work,  74,  75. 

Player,  24. 

Police,  30,  36,  37,  38;  chief  of, 
47;  laws,  6,  II,  14. 

Polizeigesets,  17  note  i. 

Pomerania,  16  note  53,  62  note 
10. 

Pomeranian  Diet,  59. 

Poor,  63,  74. 

Poor  relief,  45,  64. 

Popular  representation,  69. 

Porter,  30. 

Posen,  16,  also  note  54;  25,  45, 
62  note  10,  64. 

Potato,  43,  also  note  3;  44,  63, 
66;  blight,  43. 

Potsdam,  II,  48. 

Poverty,  44,  63. 

Prescription,  21. 

Press,  58,  66. 

Price,  44;  average,  43;  high, 
43;  fixing,  4,  30,  44;  abo- 
lition of  price  fixing,  14. 

Production,  46,  52,  79. 

Professional  men,  53. 

Proletariat,  7,  46,  54,  56. 

Provinces:  old,  16;  new,  16. 

Provincial  Diet,  58,  78. 

Provincial  government,  29. 


112 


INDUSTRIAI.  FREEDOM   IN  PRUSSIA 


Provisional  Industrial  Law,  ^^, 
78. 

Prussia,  i,  3,  M.  i5,  i6,  17,  22, 
25.  36.  42.  51,  54.  56,  58,  62 
note  10,  76,  80,  81;  East 
Prussia,  9,  10,  16  note  53, 
43  note  2,  45;  Province  of, 
43,  44;  Rhenish,  16  note  54; 
West  Prussia,  9,  10,  16  note 
S3,  43  note  2. 

Prussian  Code,  i,  3.  6,  8,  9,  12, 
16,  74.  79.  80. 

Prussian    National    Assembly, 

1^,  73- 

Public  stand,  30. 

Public  works,  47,  62,  63,  64,  74- 

Qualification,  14,  26,  74-  See 
Apprentice,  Craftsman,  Jour- 
neyman,  New  Guilds. 

Railway,  64,  12.. 

Ranke,  von  (library  of),  96. 

Rat-catcher,  24. 

Raw  material,  14,  23. 

Reaction,  51,  76. 

Reciprocity,  25,  26,  28,  29. 

Reden,  54,  also  note  26. 

Re-examination,  4. 

Registration  card,  74. 

Register  of  mortgages,  12. 

Report  (of  the  Governor),  45. 

Restrictions  abolished,  4,  18. 

Retailing,  8,  79. 

Revolution,  59,  70 ;  French,  i ; 
February,  48;  March,  48,  55, 
70,  72,  80;  in  Berlin,  65,  66. 

Rhenish-Westphalian  Young 
Men's  League,  53. 

Rhine,  16,  44,  51. 

Rhine  Province,  62  note  10;  78. 

Right  of  association,  69. 


Rights  redeemable,  21;  excep- 
tions, 21. 

Road,  54;  building  and  repair- 
ing, 64. 

Roenne,  54,  also  note  26. 

Rojal  decree,  74. 

Royal  family,  53. 

Royal  proclamation,  72. 

Royal  proposition,  59,  62,  also 
note  10;  63,  68. 

Rural  district,  13,  62  note  11; 

n- 

Rye,  43- 

Salary,   76. 

Savings,  54. 

Saxony,  16,  also  note  54;  62 
note  10;  64. 

Schlachtsteuer,S9,(>i-  See  also 
Slaughtering  of  cattle. 

School  teacher,  76. 

Seal,  4. 

Second  Diet,  67. 

Second  United  Diet,  66,  69. 

Selhsiaendiger  Gewerbetreiben- 
dcr,  2,7  note  65. 

Serfdom,  9. 

Services,  24. 

Shoemaker,   12. 

Shop,  28,  44. 

Sick-fund,  51. 

Silesia,  16  note  53,  43,  44,  45. 
62  note  10. 

Sinking  fund,  19. 

Slaughtering  of  cattle,  59,  60. 

Social  dissatisfaction,  42. 

Society  for  the  Advancement 
of  Industry  in  Prussia,  52. 

Solingen,  51. 

Special  district,  14. 

Speculation,  43,  63;  in  food- 
stuffs, 43. 


INDEX 


"3 


Spinning  industry,  73. 

Staedteordmmg,  9.  See  also 
Municipal  Law. 

Stargard-Posen  Railway,  74. 

Steam  navigation,  51. 

Stehende  Gewerhe,  i8,  26.  See 
Trade. 

Stein,  I,  9,  ID,  II,  22,  80. 

Stone-mason,  12. 

Store,  28,  49,  77,  78. 

Stranger,  8,  23. 

Subject,  9. 

Superior  Building  Commis- 
sion, 32. 

Sur-tax,  70. 

Surveyor,  27. 

Swedish  Pomerania,  16,  also 
note  54. 

Switzerland,  36. 

TariflF  barrier,  60;  abolition  of, 
66. 

Tariff  system,  65. 

Tax,  16;  graduated,  12,  15;  on 
mills,  10;  on  house  rents,  48, 
70;  on  grain,  59,  66,  67,  72, 
76;  on  cattle,  59,  66,  67,  70, 
73i  75 ;  on  rye,  61 ;  register, 
18;  exemption,  76. 

Taxation,  67,  68,  73,  75;  rate 
of,  76. 

Technological  Institute,  33. 

Tender,  46  note  12. 

Textile  factory,  46. 

Thaler,  12,  39,  also  note  68 ;  43, 
SI,  55,  70. 

Thiergarten,  47. 

Tools,   13,  27,  40. 

Town-Council,  47.  See  also 
Municipal  authorities  and 
Municipal  board. 


Trade,  22,  76;  bourgeois,  9; 
city,  8,  10;  establishment  of, 
27;     extra-mural,    8;     fixed, 

18,  22,  26,  34,   70;   itinerant, 

19,  22,  23,  24  note  26;  25,  26, 
73,  771  privileges,  27;  quali- 
fications, 26;  requiring  guild 
membership  and  test  of  pro- 
ficiency, 35  note  60. 

Trade  license,  23,  24,  25. 

Trade  privilege,  12;  for  life, 
19;  perpetual  and  exclusive, 
19. 

Trades  Council,  79. 

Trade  tax,  11,  14,  15,  20,  22, 
25,  70. 

Truck  system,  59,  78. 

Tuition,  38. 

Typhus,  44,  45- 

Unemployed,  49,  72,  74,  75. 

Union,  55. 

United  Diet,  47,  61,  63,  65. 

Unrestricted  travel,  36. 

Unterstuetsungskasse,  69.  See 
also  Fund. 

Upper  House,  64,  65. 

Vagabond,  6. 

Vender,  24. 

Village,  42. 

Von  der  Heydt,   78. 

Von  Duesberg,  61. 

Von  Patow,  50,  70,  71,  72,  74. 

Von  Ranke  library,  96. 

Vorparlament,  77  note  47. 

Voting,  34. 

Wage,  45,  47,  48,  also  note  16; 
49,  72;  fixing,  30;  increase, 
49 ;  daily,  75 ;  daily  —  sys- 
tem, 50;  regulation,  14. 

Wanderschaft,  5,  36,  49,  77. 


114 


INDUSTRIAI,  FREEDOM  IN  PRUSSIA 


Wares,  24. 

Weaver:   linen,  9;   cotton,   9; 

of  Westphalia,  59,  74. 
Weights  and  measures,  66. 
Welfare,  67,  68,  70. 
Welfare  committee,  47. 
Weser  Zeitung,  48,  66. 
Westphalia,  16  note  54,  62,  also 

note  10;  74, 
Wheat,  43. 
Widows,  4,  32. 
Women,  26,  28,  49,  52,  56. 
Wood-clock  maker,  24. 
Workingmen,    48,    50,    51,    54, 

also  note  25;  55,  56,  59,  67, 

71,  75;  meeting  of,  47. 


Workmen's  Congress,  56. 
Workmen's   Society,  75. 
Workshop,   40. 
Wr angel,  51. 
Wuerttemburg,  2. 
Zollverein,   2^   note    36.      See 

also  Customs  Union, 
Zunft,  13. 
Zunftz'wang,  3  note  10 ;  7,  8,  10, 

13,  14,  also  note  47;  15,  31, 

Zl,  77,  78. 
Zwangsgerechtigkeit,      11,      17 

note   I. 
Zwangshezirke,  14. 
Zwangsrechte,  14,  also  note  47; 

19,  20. 


DATE  DUE 


'■niNTEOlNu.g 


^     °°0  434  67C 


